To inspire your submission for the 166th edition of the International Photography Exhibition (IPE), here is a selection of member photography currently on display in the IPE 165 at RPS House.
PAULA PINK
Paula Pink is a photographic artist living and working in Charlotte, NC. Originally from Edinburgh, she trained and worked as a graphic designer in London and holds a degree in liberal arts from The New School, NYC. Recently, she has been experimenting with alternative photographic processes in and out of the darkroom, exploring organic forms, patterns in nature, and the interconnectivity between all living things.
The global scale of human-caused threats to Earth’s ecosystems can foster a sense of hopelessness. However, in times of unprecedented destruction and loss, it is also important to celebrate the wonders of nature and draw attention to its fragile and essential place in our lives. Using electricity as a metaphor for the light and inner life within plants, my series of camera-less photograms seek to offer greater appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of the natural world, and the interconnectedness of all living things: just as we depend on the energy and vitality of plants, so they depend on us to safeguard their wellbeing for generations to come. (The images in this series are created in the darkroom using plant forms on gelatin silver B&W photographic paper exposed to light and electrical discharge.)
JADE CARR DALEY
Jade Carr-Daley is a social documentary and portrait photographer from Bristol, UK. Her Jamaican-British heritage heavily influences her practice, as well as social issues affecting minority communities and Black Women. She studied BA (Hons) Photography at Bath Spa University and completed her MA in Photography at the University of West England in 2022.
An ongoing documentation of my transition into Motherhood. The images show my transition from being cared for to becoming the carer – my final days of adolescence and irresponsibility. Missing elements of representation and visibility affected me, and my pregnancy more than I expected. I felt isolated, misunderstood, unheard, sometimes unsafe, and drained through sections of my pregnancy. The camera allowed me to visually capture the unedited and truthful depiction of a pregnant black woman, the early stages of parenting, and the mental and physical changes that our bodies go through during these stages.
YUXING CHEN
Photographer and visual artist based between London and Shanghai. Her photographic practice is centred around the creation and discussion of decolonisation of cultural differences and identity issues. She received her master's degree in MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication.
The Oriental Scene investigates Chinoiserie architecture in the UK in the context of de-colonialism. The work uses a replica of the Porcelain Tower of Nanking in Kew Gardens as its primary object of investigation through the collection of archives of the Porcelain Tower, which include objects, paintings, and documents. By showing the pagoda in various mediums, Yuxing explores the complexities implied in the cultural and artistic collision of Eastern and Western societies metaphorically represented by the Porcelain Tower. Photography is used to render these images in a contemporary form by redacting the outline of the reimagining of the Oriental presence.
JUNO
A South Korean photographer who works in London, UK. Juno explores various issues surrounding humanity through tableau photography. These may include relationships, communication, traditions, and cultural heritage. Her work is eclectic in its subject matter, ranging from very fundamental human problems to highly personal matters. Juno’s work is characterised by the use of various mise-en-scènes and metaphors, creating a cinematic storytelling structure.
This project is about death, more specifically about the death of my grandmother who passed away last year. It is inspired by my Korean heritage and our rituals towards death and how we behave around death. It is also about how, over historical time, civilisations have developed unique rituals and behaviours in relation to death. This project explores adulthood, sickness, death, and afterlife. Using photographic tableau to imaginatively, but subtly, re-stage moments, or passages which blur the boundaries between life and death.
DAWN RODGERS
A visual artist and educator based in Berkshire, she navigates the ancient landscape of Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, utilising photography, mythology, and folklore as a means of exploring and expressing grief, loss and absence. Her practice is centred around the death of her brother and the complexity of feelings that grief leaves in its wake.
Finding Fiddlers Green is a new body of work that continues my exploration of grief, all photographs were taken during the gloaming hour when the light grows dim, and it is neither day nor night. This is a liminal time, a magical time of half-light, a time of fairies and other worlds. At this time the veil grows thin if you listen carefully, you can hear the fiddle playing and the distant sound of laughter on the wind. Fiddlers Green is one of many descriptions of The Other Place and it is in these places I search for my absent sibling.
DOUGLAS THOMPSON
My father gave me my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic for a trip to London, I’ve taken photographs ever since. I also have an interest in the history of photography and in early processes, admiring them but needing to know how they were made. Ultimately for me, photography is the capture of form and light, holding a moment in time.
‘Farewell thon stream that winding flows’
– platinum/palladium print
STEPHEN LOVELL-DAVIS
Stephen Lovell-Davis has been, at various times, a train coupler, decorator, motorcycle courier, TV presenter and, as a last desperate resort, a freelance photographer, which he has done for most of his working life. His work has included; editorial portraiture, documentary, music and automotive photography.
Between 1979 and 1981 I worked as a Coupler at Euston Station. The job consisted of uncoupling the locomotive from the front of an incoming train, then attaching another loco at the other end to take it back out. The job was dirty and dangerous because you had to climb down between the engine and the carriages to detach hoses, cables, and the coupling. Sometimes the locomotive had to be moved to enable this and we would stay under the train to save time. These photographs are from a series of pictures I took whilst working there.