However, I did find a hidden gem in West Brom called The Public. This place is relatively new and the building costs have soared and caused controversy in the area. The Public is modern and bright and houses plenty of interactive tools for kids to get involved and enjoy the learning process. It focuses on various aspects of learning so there is a wide range to see.
The Lower Level of The Public. It is rather pink!
Once I got over the initial bright pink area on the ground level, I discovered there were a couple of photographic exhibitions on. The most interesting for me was Richard Billingham's Ray's a Laugh which I will write about first.
I have already become a fan of Billingham and it was interesting to view his work in a gallery in the heart of the Black Country. I felt it breathed more life into the display. The exhibition itself consisted of two enlarged prints which were displayed on the wall and the series of 6x4 prints that were displayed in glass cases. I found this a little disappointing as I was expecting to see them larger and on a wall. However, looking back on it now I think seeing as they were snapshots the decision was made to display as such. I feel that it made you, the viewer, feel that you were looking at a friend's photo collection. Billingham developed many of his films in local places or by using Truprint. Truprint was a mail order type film processing service that was cheap and cheerful if you didn't mind waiting a while to get your prints back.
Billingham's film Fishtank was also being shown which worked well with the exhibition. This provided more insight into the family. I did find that the screen was rather large and due to the close proximity of the seating area it made it difficult to view.
I have already covered the series of images in an earlier post but I would like to add the following thoughts about the work having seen it exhibited. I feel that the series is more of a personal work having viewed the images. Or should I say it feels more personal. I feel that I have more empathy for the characters or perhaps more of a longing to know more about them. I think the way the images were shot and presented reflects the desperation it sets out to depict. I also feel that I saw more love in the characters than I had done previously. Perhaps the photographer's decision to distance himself from the subjects and not be sentimental shows more respect for his family and allows their voice to be heard without any interference from the photographer.
Another exhibition at The Public was the A41 project by Colin McPherson. This project is a photographic exploration of the A41 road which runs from Merseyside to London and passes through West Brom. McPherson collaborated with The Equality Trust for this project. This organisation looks at how we express the issues behind inequality in our society and its consequences from a visual perspective. The themes that that are explored in this series of work include the impact of inequality, the widening gap between rich and poor, life expectancy, social inclusion and social mobility.
The images were taken from various places on the road focusing on the West Brom area. I found this project interesting because of the themes it explored and the way it did so. Captions played an important role in each image exhibited. I feel that without these the narrative wouldn't hold together. I also found it interesting to see how another photographer created a sense of place for a diverse area. However, one draw back from me was the way in which the images were displayed - on one of the walkways to the upper floors. This made it difficult to view the work or to reflect on it. I can imagine that if the place is busy it would make it even harder to view.
Last but not least was the permanent, albeit small, collection of Martin Parr's work from Black Country Stories. There is about five images in this collection and they are spread out across the building. They focus on the local people at work, at play or at leisure. I feel that although the images are strong which is what you would expect from Parr's work, they fall a little flat somehow. I think this may be to do with the way they are and the location of where they are exhibited.
Overall, this was an interesting visit to an interesting place. I was really glad to be able to see Billingham's exhibition. I think I will take a lot from how work is exhibited from this venue. I feel that the underlying theme of fun can be seen everywhere but is this at the expense of being able to see the messages coming from the more 'serious' work on display. For me the jury is out on that one.
Another exhibition at The Public was the A41 project by Colin McPherson. This project is a photographic exploration of the A41 road which runs from Merseyside to London and passes through West Brom. McPherson collaborated with The Equality Trust for this project. This organisation looks at how we express the issues behind inequality in our society and its consequences from a visual perspective. The themes that that are explored in this series of work include the impact of inequality, the widening gap between rich and poor, life expectancy, social inclusion and social mobility.
McPherson's images are displayed on the left hand side of this walkway
The images were taken from various places on the road focusing on the West Brom area. I found this project interesting because of the themes it explored and the way it did so. Captions played an important role in each image exhibited. I feel that without these the narrative wouldn't hold together. I also found it interesting to see how another photographer created a sense of place for a diverse area. However, one draw back from me was the way in which the images were displayed - on one of the walkways to the upper floors. This made it difficult to view the work or to reflect on it. I can imagine that if the place is busy it would make it even harder to view.
Last but not least was the permanent, albeit small, collection of Martin Parr's work from Black Country Stories. There is about five images in this collection and they are spread out across the building. They focus on the local people at work, at play or at leisure. I feel that although the images are strong which is what you would expect from Parr's work, they fall a little flat somehow. I think this may be to do with the way they are and the location of where they are exhibited.
At play in the Black Country
Overall, this was an interesting visit to an interesting place. I was really glad to be able to see Billingham's exhibition. I think I will take a lot from how work is exhibited from this venue. I feel that the underlying theme of fun can be seen everywhere but is this at the expense of being able to see the messages coming from the more 'serious' work on display. For me the jury is out on that one.
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