Whilst many galleries are beginning to reopen, there remains a wealth of content to explore online. These visually striking exhibitions explore themes of travel, escapism, myth and the landscape. Discover photographers capturing what it means to be human with the Wellcome Photography Prize, or delve into powerful photo-collage with Lorna Simpson.
Wellcome Photography Prize 2020
This year’s Wellcome Photography Prize shortlist explores aspects of global health and wellbeing through a range of approaches. The award is split into five strands: Social Perspectives, Hidden Worlds, Medicine in Focus, and two categories on Mental Health, which is the focus for this year. Featured at the top of the page is Benji Reid’s Holding on to Daddy, which depicts the artist as a “broken astronaut”, floating up into the air whilst tethered to his daughter. Winners announced 19 August.
Lorna Simpson: Give Me Some Moments, Hauser and Wirth
Lorna Simpson’s (b. 1960) multilayered photo collages splice faces and bodies with architecture, animals and plants. They use extreme close-ups and cropping to reconfigure images into new compositions loaded with meaning. “The notion of fragmentation, especially of the body, is prevalent in our culture, and it’s reflected in my works,” the artist explains. “We’re fragmented not only in terms of how society regulates our bodies but in the way we think about ourselves.”
Nadav Kander: Quietude, Flowers Gallery
Nadav Kander (b. 1961) is recognised as one of the most original and highly regarded photographers of our time, celebrated for portraits revealing the truth behind their subjects. In this must-see show, Flowers Gallery highlights a series of expansive landscape images taken in remote parts of the world. Isolated figures stand amongst sweeping pastel horizons. “When alone, there is nowhere I’d rather be than beside large bodies of slow moving water. I feel myself, quiet and alive as emotions come and go,” Kander explains.
The American road trip has played a somewhat mythic role in the history of art and literature, with Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (1957) considered a defining work of the Beat Generation. Fraenkel Gallery’s show highlights a range of photographers who have captured journeys across the US, evoking a sense of adventure. Featured names include Robert Adams,William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, Katy Grannan, Peter Hujar, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Richard Misrach, Alec Soth and Garry Winogrand.
In the last few months, many of us have dreamt about the possibility of visiting new places, immersing ourselves in the memories of summers spent abroad. Galerie Bildhalle evokes the excitement of journeys. This group show allows viewers to imaging flying to Naples with René Burri and Werner Bischof; to Rio with Thomas Hoepker; to Japan with Paul Cupido. Trees stretch upwards into cloudless skies, as well as mountain tops, flowers and water droplets all shot through soft, hazy blues and luminous yellows.
1. Benji Reid / Wellcome Photography Prize 2020
2. Arseniy Neskhodimov / Wellcome Photography Prize 2020
2. Walk with me, Lorna Simpson, 2020
3. Helium, Lorna Simpson, 2019
4. Nadav Kander, Tourist I, Death Valley, USA, 1996
5. Lee Friedlander, Canadian Rockies, 2005
6. Robert Adams (b.1937), Eden, Colorado, 1968-1969
7. The Mouth of Krishna #786, 2019, Pigments on Gampi paper over gold leaf, 18 x 25 cm, Edition of 20, ©Albarran Cabrera, Courtesy of Bildhalle
