The Photographers’ Gallery, only a step away from Oxford Circus, is worth keeping an eye on.
Right now until 22nd February, it has an exhibition by Ukrainian artist Boris Mikhailov (born 1938 Kharkiv) : Ukrainian Diary.
“Described as an outsider, a trickster and ‘a kind of proto-punk‘, Mikhailov combines humour, mischief and tragedy in his pioneering practice, ranging from documentary photography and conceptual work, to painting and performance. Since the 1960s, he has been creating a powerful record of the tumultuous changes in Ukraine that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union.” (The Photographers’ Gallery) It is described as poignant and enlightening but I found it baffling. Fortunately it was not what I’d come for.
“I knock on the door, I say ‘hello,’ and I shake hands” said Zofia Rydet. “From 1978, when she was 67, Zofia Rydet (1911-1997) set out to photograph the inside of every Polish household. She would approach a home unannounced, knock, and warmly introduce herself and ask the people living there if they would like to take part in her project.” (Photographers’ Gallery)
The result is groups of black and white photographs: Women on Doorsteps, Windows, Houses, Domestic Interiors, Professions, etc. She called the project Sociological Record and it is “a sweepingly comprehensive documentary portrait of Polish domestic life which spans decades, eras, regions and cultures”. (Photographers’ Gallery) There are around 20,000 negatives, not all of which have been printed, and around a hundred are in the London exhibition. Here is a flavour.
I am reminded of James Ravilious’s photographs taken in the West Country that I saw at The Royal West of England Academy in 2015.
