Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-28)

10 22 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Also out now

Thelatestandbestbooksandexhibitions

from the world of photography

GangaMa

ByGiulioDiSturco,GOSTBooks,£35, 136

pages, hardback,ISBN978-1-910401-28-

From 2008 to2018,theItalian

photographerGiulioDiSturcoworkedhis

waydownthe2,500kmlengthof the

Ganges(thetitularGangaMatranslating

toMotherGanges).Onhisway,he

photographedtheriverandthosewhose

livesareintrinsicallylinkedtoit. Whilehisstyleis

distantin a physicalsense,it doesn’tlackemotion.If

anything,asa viewer,it feelsyouarelookingoverhis

shoulderandseeingwhathesees.

Rarelyarehissubjectslookingat thecamera;often

theyhavetheirbacksturned,addingtothesenseof

detachment.Thisapproachisn’teveryone’scupof tea,

butformeit worksbeautifullyandsuitsthepale,

bleached-outtreatmentthathintsat dust,parched

landandheat.Withitsredcanvasbindingandthick,

cream-colouredpaperthat’salmostlikecard,Ganga

Mais alsoa pleasurablebooktohold and browse.

★★★★★Ailsa McWhinnie

© GIULIO DI STURCO

Urban Impulses

‘UrbanImpulses’runsuntil6 Octoberat thePhotographers’Galleryin London.Tickets are £5 or free after 5pm daily.

Visitwww.thephotographersgallery.org.uk

I

sartaninherentlypoliticalact?Not

always,butasthewriterAminatta

Fornarecentlysaid,if yourworkis

notpoliticalthenit’sverylikely

becausepoliticsis workingin yourfavour.

Perhapsthen,thebestworkis reactionary

• it respondsto itsclimate,oftenfillingin
  theblankswhenthesocialandpolitical
  policyof a cultureis oneof oppressionand
  redaction.Thatcurrentof thinkingruns
  deepthroughoutthisexhaustivesurveyof
  LatinAmericanphotography.Theimages
  ondisplayspantheperiodof 1959to
  2016 andrepresentthemultifacetedand
  ever-shifting sociopolitical climates of

MexicoandSouthAmerica.It’sanapttime

forthisexhibition,withPresidentDonald

Trumpseeminglyona missionto

demoniseAmerica’sLatinpopulation.

What‘UrbanImpulses’revealsabout

LatinAmericanphotographyis itsactivist

spirit.It showshownecessaryartis in

timesof governmentsubjugationand

unease.Peoplecanvanishbutthework

theymakecanbeendlesslyreproduced.

Theexhibitionspansnotjusttime,but

genreaswell,astheworksareproduced

withinthefieldsof streetphotography,

collage,documentaryandmultimedia.

‘UrbanImpulses’is dividedintotwo

sections:‘Shouts’and‘Pop-ular’.In the

former,wefindphotography’svoiceand

itsabilitytorepresentbothpresence–

in thenotionof identity– andabsence–

in thenotionof kidnappingandforced

disappearances.Wherethelawfails,art

takesover.In thelatter,weseehowLatin

Americain the1960sbegantoredefine

itselfasa consumerandpop-culture

societythroughwidespreadcolour-

saturatedadvertisementsandbillboards.

WhenwelooktoAmerica,wecaneasily

becomepreoccupiedwiththedominant

historyof NorthAmerica’sphotography.

Thisexhibitioncorrectsthis.It’sa fantastic

andstirringshow– onethatdoesmuch to

revealthevitalityof art as activism.

Oliver Atwell

EduardoLongoni’s

‘Labatalladela

PlazadeMayo’,

20 December 2001

BOOK

BOOK

EXHIBITION

StreetPhotography:

52 Assignments

ByBrianLloydDuckett,Ammonite Press

£12.99, 128 pages,hardback,

ISBN 978-

Settingyourselfa photoassignmentis a

greatwaytomakestreetphotographyfeel

lessdaunting– whenyou’reshootingtoa

briefthere’slesstimetofeelnervous.

PhotographerBrianLloydDuckettis a

greatbelieverin ‘developinga project

mentality’,andthishardbacksuggestsa year’sworth

of weeklycommissionstogiveyoua ‘creativenudge’.

Someof thesuggestionsarea littlepredictable,but

thereareplentyof inspiredideastoo.Assignment11,

forinstance,getsyoushootingallthelocationsona

Monopolyboard,whileAssignment2 urgesyouto

imagineyourtownhasbeenhitbya zombie

apocalypseandyouhavesevendaystorecordwhere

youlivebeforeit vanishesforever.It’sa fun,nicely

illustratedbookwithplentyof ideastoinjectinterest

into your street shots.★★★★★Tracy Calder

Latin American Photography from 1959 to 2016

AtaúlfoPérezAznar’s‘Desaparecidos, Calle 6

entre 46 y 47, La Plata’, 1983

© ATAÚLFO PÉREZ A ZNAR

© EDUARDO LONGONI