Merry Christmas!

a long overdue blog post...  have a great christmas!

The Route Masters: Running London's Roads

I shot the press/ publicity stills for this documentary series 'The Route Masters: Running London's Roads'  

It started last week and is on BBC 2 every Tuesday 9 - 10 pm for 6 weeks.  Check it out, it goes behind the scenes of London's transport network. 

Festival of Art & Music rEvolution (F.A.M.E)

My next group Exhibition opens on Thursday, this time we are on a ship moored up at Canary Wharf......  

Details below.  The Private View is on Thursday afternoon, email me to be added to the guest list:

FESTIVAL OF ART & MUSIC rEVOLUTION, 25^th-28^th APRIL 2013

ON BOARD MOTOR SHIP STUBNITZ, CANARY WHARF

A FOUR DAY FESTIVAL CELEBRATING THE ARTS AS A PLATFORM TO EXPLORE AND CHALLENGE "THE STATE WE’RE IN" – AS PEOPLE, AS A COUNTRY, AS A WORLD...

MANY F.A.M.E-OUS CHANGES START THROUGH MICRO-COMMUNITIES AND EVENTUALLY SPREAD. 

¡rEVOLUTION IS UNSTOPPABLE -VIVA LA rEVOLUCION!

This is the last time the good ship Stubnitz will be lowering her gangplanks to the public before sailing off to Europe in May! 

Hosted by Floating Forum, this “state of the nation, state of the globe” event combines some of today’s most influential artists, musicians and performers in a resounding wave of social commentary and political awareness and brings art to the heart of Canary Wharf.

ARTGASMS:  TOM HUNTER, SARAH MAPLE, CHRIS BARRETT, JUNO CALYPSO, MOLLY MACINDOE, ALKE SCHMIDT, DELLA REES, ALICE SIELLE, SOPHIE GERRARD, CELIA C. PETERS, ALEX GRACE, ALANA FRANCIS, HANNAH SAWTELL, LARA PROCTOR ...

SOUNDGASMS: DELE SOSIMI'S AFROBEAT EXPERIENCE + LOKKHI TERRA,THE BEAT + 100% BEEFCOCK & THE TITSBURSTER +JOHN HEGLEY + JOELLE TAYLOR & THE SLAMBASSADORS, SAM & THE WOMP + MANO DE DIOS, THE MIGHTY COSMICS + CALYPSO CHAOS...

DJS: CAL JADER (MOVIMIENTOS), DJ TOFU (CONTINENTAL DRIFTS), NAOKO THE ROCK + ASHER G "THE ROCKSTEADY DADDY", ARTFUL BADGER, MISS PINK...  

THIS IS A FESTIVAL FOR OUR TIMES! Climb aboard the converted 1960s trawler for free entry to F.A.M.E.’s day-time art exhibition: 

Private view Thursday 25th, 4-6pm.  Free Friday 26^th - Sunday 28^th:11am-5pm

Featuring award-winning photographer Tom Hunter, “the heir to Tracey Emin’s throne”, Sarah Maple, and globe-trotting photo-journalist Chris Barrett. Collections of Juno Calypso’s photographic alter-egos can be seen alongside Alice Sielle’s portrayals of the death of Whitechapel’s Altab Ali plus a collage of visuals supplied by Bishopgate’s Institute pay tribute to the great British tradition of protest and resistance. Amongst others, Molly Macindoe, Alke Schmidt, Della Rees, Sophie Gerrard, Celia C. Peters, Alex Grace, Alana Francis, Hannah Sawtell and Lara Proctor throw thought-provoking perspectives onto a wide spectrum of themes including global and environmental issues, displacement and refuge, mental health, alternative lifestyles, gender and sexuality.

Saturday 27^th The festival also shines a light on the voices and visionaries of the future: Boroughs United, a stage show produced and managed by young volunteers from youth charity The Crib, presents an afternoon showcase  of the talents and creative achievements of 13-19 year olds from across London's 33 boroughs.

Evening gigs on board the floating gallery bring you spoken word, screenings with Q+As, circus performers and top bands ...

Thursday 25^th April: Dele Sosimi & his Afrobeat Experience + Lokkhi Terra + DJ Cal (Movimientos) + DJ Tofu (Global Local/Continental Drifts) + Other Half Productions (Two for Tea)

Friday 26^th April: The Beat + 100% Beefcock & the Titsburster + John Hegley + Joelle Taylor & Slambassadors + Soundsystem

Saturday 27^th April:  Boroughs United (Free afternoon presentation),Sam & the Womp + Mano de Dios + DJ Artful Badger 

Sunday 28^th April: The Mighty Cosmics + Calypso Chaos+ DJ Miss Pink

Screenings - In addition to a mind-blowing plethora of artists and musicians F.A.M.E., in line with its rEvolutionary agenda, will be screening a selection of rare films including shorts, feature films and documentaries on the environment, globalization, women, emancipation and social issues closer to home. We will also host a retrospective on British director PENNY WOOLCOCK including a screening of her latest ground-breaking documentary following the efforts of two rival gang leaders to bring peace to their neighbourhoods, ONE MILE AWAY 

EVENING GIGS, SCREENINGS & PRESENTATIONS - £12 Advance/£15 at the dock!

http://www.wegottickets.com/FAME

Doors: 6pm, Screenings/presentations: 6.30pm  

Venue Address: Motorship Stubnitz, Montgomery Street, Wood Wharf (Canary Wharf), London E14 9SB.

Nearest Tube: Canary Warf, Jubilee Line, Montgomery Street Exit.

DLR: Canary Wharf (10 minute walk)

Queer Bodies @ Fringe! 2013

Here are some photos from Fringe!  East London's Queer Film Fest and the slideshow 'Queer Bodies' using found images and curated by myself and Konstantinos Menelaou.

'Queer Bodies' at Fringe! Film Festival

Fringe!  is the East London Queer Film Festival.  Run by a dedicated team of volunteers, it was a response to funding for the BFI's LLGFF being cut 3 years ago.

For this year's Art @ Fringe, Konstantinos Menelaou and I have curated a slideshow installation on the theme of the queer body.

Accompanied by retro (70s, 80s, 90s) pop music, the slideshow is intended to show interpretations of the queer body for the viewer's pleasure and enjoyment.   

No explanations/ stories are given, it is intended as a simple celebration of the queer body, moving away from the political.

The show is on for one weekend only and takes place at :

School of Fringe! @ The Old Cardinal Pole School, Victoria Park Road, London E9 7HD

Friday 12^th April, 6pm-10pm,   Saturday 13^th & Sunday 14^th April, 1pm-11pm

Here is the press release:

FRINGE! FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL

Alex Grace & Konstantinos Menelaou                    

Queer Bodies

School of Fringe! @ The Old Cardinal Pole School, Victoria Park Road, London E9 7HD

Friday 12th April, 6-10pm, Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th April, 1-11pm

Queer Bodies is a slide show curated by Alex Grace and Konstantinos Menelaou of found photographs – sourced from the internet, books, magazines and private collections – representing creative dialogue between the two artists on the subject of 'queer'. By focusing simply on the pleasure of viewing and admiration of forms, allowing pure sensation to take over, this work-in-progress implicitly discusses the rules by which queer objects are expected to abide in the arts, which limit our understanding and appreciation of what 'queer' is or can be.

Alex Grace is a commercial and fine art Photographer based in London.  Recent Exhibitions include ‘Exposure’ at Format 13, Derby’s International Photo Festival and ‘For Our Pleasure’ at Hackney Picturehouse, an Exhibition Alex produced and  curated.  Alex was also an Exhibitor at last year’s Fringe, showing work in the ‘Facing You’ installation.   Commercially, Alex’s diverse client list includes Channel 4, Oxfam and Attitude Magazine.

Film-maker, event producer and curator Konstantinos Menelaou moved from Greece to London in 2001 where he still lives and works. In September 2009 he completed his MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martin’s College after studying Contemporary Media Practice at University of Westminster where he specialised in experimental film and video. His personal video and film work has been shown at film festivals and gallery shows around the world including Cannes Film Festival, Miami Art Basel, Le Centre Pompidou and the BFI, and since November 2011 he works as a Curator and Producer for Fringe! Film and Arts Festival in London.

Formerly a French Protestant hospital as well as a place of learning, the magnificent Old Cardinal Pole School has been used by Future Cinema, the team behind 'Secret Cinema', for spectacles such as an immersive theatrical version of The Shawshank Redemption earlier this year. The school is now being offered as a pop-up community centre for organisations and individuals to use the space for their own projects.

Fringe! Film Festival is an audio-visual arts adventure rooted in London’s gay creative community and welcoming everyone. Cinema is the core of Fringe! Its program includes powerful new films, old classics and provocative shorts as well as art exhibitions, performances and parties collaborating with the best of London’s alternative art scene and reaching deep into local communities.

Info:

konstantinos@fringefilmfest.com

http://fringefilmfest.com/2013-programme/friday-12th-april-2013/queer-bodies

Slideluck London V goes to Format!

.....and I will be going with them as my image series was selected!  

The selection was curated by Monica Allende at the Sunday Times Magazine and the event will coincide with Format Festival's closing weekend. 

If you can make it to the Chocolate Factory in Derby on Saturday 6th April please come along to say hi and see the slide presentations.   It is set to be a fantastic event and I'm very pleased to be part of it.

Hurts

A while ago I shot the band 'Hurts' for You Magazine.   

Since they have just released some new music I went back to look at the images I previously shot and below is a little edit.  

This was shot in West London, Shepherds Bush I think, it may look sunny but it was actually a very cold day and we were all freezing.

Contact Camera Press to see more and for any syndication enquires.

Factory

I am pleased that my project 'Factory' has been selected to be shown at the Exposure Exhibition as part of the Format Photography Festival and Biennial to be held in Derby next month (March 2013).

Below are the images, showing portraits of Ex (rescued) Caged Hens AND Free Range Hens.  (The montage is mainly 'free range' hens.)  I was shocked to discover some of these in a worst stage than the caged hens.

The last image, the healthy looking hen, is NOT a factory farmed hen and surprisingly is a city hen living on a rooftop in Dalston at Farm Shop.

'For Our Pleasure?' panel discussion

A small selection of images from the panel discussion we hosted before 'For Our Pleasure?' at Hackney Picturehouse closed.  

Thanks so much to Damian Owen-Board for a wonderful gallery tour and for chairing the discussion. 

Thanks to Alex Randall for taking time out on a Sunday to sit on our panel and for bringing her amazing 'Rat Swarm' light!

Thanks to Martin Usborne for attending the panel straight after landing in to St Pancras on a Eurostar from Paris!

And finally, thank you to all who attended our very successful discussion.  Lots of food for thought..... I may do a full write up at a later date......

'For Our Pleasure?' Exhibition photos

Below are some photos from the recent Exhibition I curated for Photomonth 2012.  The show was in the gallery at Hackney Picturehouse and was open from 1st November until 28th November.  

The Photographers involved were Daniel Kukla, Martin Usborne, myself and Adrien Ehrhardt.  The show also contained a number of pieces of taxidermy since the theme was our relationship with animals.

All in all the show was a great success and being my first curatorial project I was very pleased with the achievement and the reaction of the press to the Exhibition.

We had a panel discussion on the 18th November and I will post some photos from this event as I have them.....