We are really sad to share the news that Ray Higginbottom died on new year's day. He was a terrific person, an amazing photographer and a much loved member of our Ealing group. He always brimmed with enthusiasm, creativity, ideas, and never failed to bring new work to show which always impressed. We will miss him very much. There is a web site here which is a tribute to Ray.

Dividing Lines The book of ‘Dividing Lines’ is being launched at the Photobook Café on the evenings of 11 and 12 January 2024, and accompanied by a pop-up exhibition of images from the project.

Frankie McAllister’s book ‘Dividing Lines’ is an essay responding to the effect of Brexit on Ireland and more specifically to the landscapes of Donegal, one of the border counties and a place she has strong connections with. Using the landscape as a metaphor, she has created images exploring the artificiality (and absurdity) of externally imposed borders, whether they are borders we impose on ourselves or those imposed from outside.

Runs: 11 – 12 January 2024
Open: Launch & Pop-up 11 January 6pm to 9 pm, 12 January 6pm to 9 pm
Also open for view on Saturday 13 January 1pm to 5pm
Private View: 11 and 12 January 6pm to 9pm

Gallery: The Photobook Cafe, 4 Leonard Circus, Shoreditch. EC2A 4DQ
Public transport: Nearest tube Old St.
https://www.frankiemcallister.com
https://photobookcafe.co.uk

September's meeting had been devoted to opening our BEAT 2023 exhibition Blondin so it was good to get back to sharing and discussing new work from a number of members for our October meeting.

Ray Higginbottom led off with a new selection of prints of landscape work from a recent trip to Norfolk. We then welcomed Mark Fisher who joined the meeting after seeing our last BEAT show and he shared some of his work from a recent trip to Norfolk too. Robin Segulem's prints then transported us to Cumbria, from the streets of Barrow-in-Furness to the Lake District Fells. Angelika Berndt took us to Austria to admire a new set of documentary images from a bodypainting festival. Following that, the Arles photo festival itself was the subject of Richard Baker's work with his take on the curation and display of the exhibitions there. Anshuman Acharya added to the global perspective of the evening with a range of photographs from Japan, India, Vietnam and Australia.

[Both images above by Robin Segulem]

[Both images above by Richard Baker]

[Both images above by Anshuman Acharya]

We had a chat about BEAT and the private view in particular. The slackline display was a hit and prompted us to think of combining with other performers or artists on any future projects too.

We then followed up on an idea Arun Misra had suggested for our topic calendar at the start of the year - stories behind some famous photographs. Dorota Boisot showed some portraits she had made in the spirit of a photograph of the Hollywood star Rita Hayworth. Sean McDonnell then shared a selection of images and stories from photographers including Louis Daguerre, Diane Arbus and Sebastião Salgado.

We also had a brief discussion on ideas for next month's meeting, including AI, and will be sharing details in advance of that.

Thanks in conclusion to Robert Vaas for hosting the meeting at Questors Theatre while our regular venue was unavailable!

September's meeting was the opening of the Blondin exhibition. It was a lovely evening on a gorgeous late summer's day cataching up over a drink, bathing in the satisfying aftermath of the exhibtion going up, chatting with friends. It looks great and will get so much footfall by virtue of its location. To add a bit of fun to the evening Nick had brought along his slackline which was set low to the ground for anyone to have a go. 

BEAT is also in full flow now and weekend one has just drawn to a close. Hopefully visitors to Blondin enjoyed their visit as part of the local art trail.

Blondin, the group photo exhibition in Blondin Park, was installed today and is now live. We are delighted to be a bit ahead of schedule so that it will be there for Brentford festival as well as ready for BEAT. [Thanks to Angelika for the photos]

Here is Sean in action 

Blondin is an outdoor exhibition of photographs illustrating the life of Blondin Park. It is this year's Ealing LIP group exhibition. We have discovered parts of the park and activities that have caught our imagination.  They are on display on boards outdoors so you can view them at any time. 

The exhibition will feature as part of this year's BEAT (Borough of Ealing Art Trail) which runs over the weekends of 9-10 Sept and 16-17 Sept, but will remain up for several months. 

It is live now. So do visit! Do join us for an official opening launch on Sept 6 at 7pm in the park by the boards.

The group currently have two outdoor exhibitions in ealing as Unlocked is still on display on the putside of Ealing Police Station.

Inspired by Angelika other group members brought photos along on the theme Living in London. Here are a few:

by Brigitte Flock

by Brigitte Flock

by Carolyn

by Carolyn

by Jonny Baker

by Jonny Baker

by Sarah Wilkie

by Sarah Wilkie

At the August group meeting the theme was Living In London. Angelika Berndt gave a presentation on a project she has been working on. She says this about it...

Living in London
In temporary accommodation

The project was developed in 2022 as a lived-in self-experiment.

Over several months Angelika Berndt lived in different types of temporary accommodation in different parts of London. Accommodation types ranged from a room in a flat share, to a hostel, a fully furnished attic apartment and a sublet in a family home.

The experiment became as much a trial to find out how it feels to live in these different types of accommodation as it gave insights into the neighbourhoods themselves, their people, the supply chain and transport facilities.

Having lived in Ealing for many years, Angelika soon was to learn what social support; good access to supplies and transport was all about.

This photo research was first presented at Ealing LIP and is now available as a digital book.

Angelika Berndt

And here are some pages from the book