Book review — How I Make Photographs ( Joel Meyerowitz) by Allan LEONARD 18 October 2020 Joel Meyerowitz is a renowned street photographer, long before the term became a familiar recognised genre (or subgenre of documentary photography). Once working as an art director, after an encounter with photographer Robert Frank, he quit his job and … Continue reading Book review — How I Make Photographs (Joel Meyerowitz)
Altered Context: A New Parameters project by Allan LEONARD 20 July 2020 New Parameters was an online engagement project, with participants creating images of their responses to the arrival and presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. The Nerve Centre hosted collaboration, through video calls and the online platform, Slack. The following is my … Continue reading Altered Context: A New Parameters project
"And then there is the phenomenon known as Derry Girls. A television comedy written by Lisa McGee and set in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, it has been a runaway success both with the public and the critics. The show won the IFTA Gala TV Award for best comedy in 2018; McGee won the best … Continue reading Portfolio — A Pocket History of Northern Ireland
The 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement gives legal recognition to the coexisting and overlapping national citizenships in Northern Ireland, entitling those born in the jurisdiction to be British, Irish, or both. The devolved administration codifies the traditional political identities of “Unionist” and “Nationalist”, as well as an opportunity for “Others”. The accord has also pledged greater … Continue reading Post-Agreement identity narratives: A photographic essay
“In my imagination, it was true”: Margins of Excess exhibition artist talk by Max Pinckers by Allan LEONARD 14 June 2019 As part of the Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast Exposed is hosting an exhibition of Margins of Excess, by Max Pinckers. The artist gave a talk about this project in the gallery, describing how he … Continue reading “In my imagination, it was true”: Margins of Excess exhibition talk by Max Pinckers
Belfast Exposed exhibition talk: Post Truth: The new normal of the undefined, abstract, and make believe by Allan LEONARD 30 May 2019 Belfast Exposed is hosting a group exhibition displaying the work of graduate students of the MFA Photography programme at Ulster University (UU). The theme is “Post Truth”, which aims to explore how we … Continue reading Belfast Exposed exhibition talk: Post Truth: The new normal of the undefined, abstract, and make believe
Book review — The Colour of Time (Dan Jones & Marina Amaral) by Allan LEONARD 26 May 2019 Released in hardcover in August 2018 and now available in paperback, The Colour of Time, by historian Dan Jones and artist Marina Amaral, is a collection of 200 colourised photographs taken between 1850 and 1960. With accompanying … Continue reading Book review — The Colour of Time (Dan Jones & Marina Amaral)
Doing our part: Dealing with bonfires by Allan LEONARD 9 May 2019 Greater Shankill Alternatives, which is part of a co-ordinating initiative on restorative justice across Northern Ireland, hosted a workshop session that explored various aspects of the tradition of bonfires and the organisation’s approaches of engagement with groups who construct these structures for annual … Continue reading Doing our part: Dealing with bonfires
Decisive moments at Belfast City Hospital: A street photography exhibition by Tuck Goh by Allan LEONARD 17 January 2019 At the Tower Gallery in City Hospital, I arrived with some time to spare in advance of the official start of an exhibition of street photography by Tuck Goh. I took a seat and watched passers-by … Continue reading Decisive moments at Belfast City Hospital
SEVERE: Interview with Martin Seeds by Allan LEONARD 5 November 2018 A new body of work by Belfast-born artist, Martin Seeds, has just been shown as part of the Brighton Photo Fringe. The works are an extension of Seeds’ application of landscape and allegory. Or put another way, our political landscape -- literally and figuratively. … Continue reading SEVERE: Interview with Martin Seeds
Book review — Bobby Sands (Yan Morvan) by Allan LEONARD 11 October 2018 Sorj Chalandon ends his foreword with a question from Bobby Sands’ memorial card: “Will tomorrow be remembered?” He is with Bobby Sands, a photobook by Yan Morvan. https://youtu.be/20VVWz6XtVo It is said that a journalist creates the first draft of history, and Morvan’s … Continue reading Book review — Bobby Sands by Yan Morvan
The Lost Moment exhibition: The provocation of 1968 by Allan LEONARD 27 September 2018 In the year 1968, there were street protests and marches in Belfast, Berlin, Derry/Londonderry, Paris, Prague, Selma and beyond. Some of the most powerful captured images and video clips are on display at The Lost Moment exhibition at the Gallery of … Continue reading The Lost Moment exhibition: The provocation of 1968
