Post ETALAGE

ETALAGE III was easily the busiest exhibition I had been involved with since graduation.  I'm not sure exactly how many people came through the door on the night but it was a continuous flow from start to finish.  Credit immediately must go to the immensely talented Elizabeth Ball for putting together (yet again) such a unique and diverse batch of photographers and their work.  Whatever her plans are when it comes to curating her next show, I do hope my work maintains that same standard I always work towards, or even higher if possible, to be considered for selection.    

I spent the majority of Thursday after arriving in Manchester at midnight Wednesday, setting up my display.  In my eyes I wanted it to be a visual feast, essentially give the viewer a sense of not really knowing exactly where to look or what to focus first.  In some ways it was very much a mirror to being back there in Tsavo. With so much to stare at, so much to constantly take in, I wanted my display to be a showcase of undeniable beauty that is Kenya.
  

Setting up on Thursday

The hours leading up to the private view and I was a complete bag of nerves; it took more than just a few glasses of wine to begin to ease the jitters.  As an artist, I do find it impossible to really truly enjoy these nights.  After all, the opening night of an exhibition is really the night you should be most looking forward too.  Maybe in time I will be less concerned with reaction and who is looking at what and just take in the night like any other visiting member of public would do.  Still, it was over now, and despite the massive amount of positive feedback I did receive, I seemed to choose instead to spend these last few days mainly thinking about the negatives.

Tsavo on display @ ETALAGE III.  Photo by Hazel Edmunds 

Tsavo on display @ ETALAGE III.  Photo by Hazel Edmunds 

At this stage of my career as a photographer, I am still unsure how best to exhibit my work.  Each exhibition I have tried something different - single images, multiple, large, small - and each time I do feel that I am getting a little closer towards that sweet spot of absolute perfection.  The card mounted frames were definitely a step in the right direction in many ways, and far better than large glass frames I had used before yet still, they had their own problems.  With temperature change comes potential bending and this was something I never really considered.  When I do get home I expect a fair few books will be needed to rest on top of these for a while in time for the next exhibition.  Expense and carrying two and from home is another factor I need to look at more and in greater detail, as both seem at the moment to only help damage the old bank balance and back.  Future exhibitions from this point onwards, at least after Devonport Guildhall in June (since I already have the full Tsavo series in print and it would seem daft otherwise not to use these again), I firmly believe I will have cracked it.  Smart, simple, effective.  That was the direction I was going to go in, my mantra from this day forth and the way I was going to exhibit in the future. Though more on that in the future.

For now, with just a few days left of my time in Manchester, all I could think of was getting back home and beginning my next project.  I had never had such an itching to get started on anything before, which perhaps said something about this project and me as a photographer post graduation.  It was going to be a busy few weeks ahead, and a busy few months thereafter.  Devonport exhibition was next, though technically a little something else concerning my new project that was to be undertaken first.

#clue