#41 - Zines & Live Discussion

Hello again.

Many thanks to those who have renewed their Subscription+ support for the next two issues of Offline Journal plus extras - work is already underway on #009 which will be unveiled at The EYE International Photography Festival in Aberystwyth this October.

And don’t forget - by renewing your Subscriber+ subscription there’s a chance you could win a copy of the rare ‘Once Upon a Time in Wales’ photobook by Robert Haines!

And your Subscriber+ support also gains access to this Newsletter and the extra content on the Offline website. You can renew your subscription here - and my thanks again in advance.

New material awaits you on the website now in the form of the second part of my chat with Jack Lowe and also the full ‘walk-and-talk’ around Pete Davis’ ‘CITY STORIES : Cardiff 1969 - 1977’ exhibition in Found Gallery, which runs until 21 May. You can access the material via this link and using the password: SubsPlu5May22

Don’t forget to check the updated photography exhibition listings at the end of this email!

Thanks, Brian.

ZINE: A Fortunate Man’s Place: A Story about a Story

Published in 1967, ‘A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor’ by John Berger and Jean Mohr was a book I wasn’t familiar with, but having a copy of ‘Another Way of Telling: A Possible Theory of Photography’, I was aware of that particular collaboration by the writer and photographer.

It was therefore a real pleasure to receive a copy of Steve Starr’s recently self-published zine titled ‘A Fortunate Man’s Place: A Story about a Story’ to introduce me to Berger & Mohr’s book and Steve’s own photography.

The publisher, Canongate, describes the 1967 book as follows:

In A Fortunate Man, Berger's text and the photography of Jean Mohr reveal with extraordinary intensity the life of a remarkable man. It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub. Drawing on psychology, biography and medicine A Fortunate Man is a portrait of sacrifice. It is also a profound exploration of what it means to be a doctor, to serve a community and to heal.

Steve Starr, an analogue camera enthusiast, had read and was left fascinated by the book, so decided to visit its setting - the village of St. Briavels which sits in The Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire. He set himself the challenge of using an analogue 35mm SLR camera and film stock - selecting them to match, as close as he could, the types Jean Mohr might have used when making the original black and white photographs in the mid 60s.
(I’m including a link here to the original title on Amazon UK as you can click on the book cover image to see a selection of Mohr’s images).

Starr’s photographs capture a quiet rural village seemingly, willingly, trapped in time. His time spent in the home setting and workplace of Dr. John Sassall, the village GP and protagonist in A Fortunate Man, allowed him the opportunity to make photographs of an historic place that was home to and tended by a close-knit community of skilled forestry workers and their families.

As Starr states in his zine’s opening text:

“I would make a physical journey to The Forest of Dean, to arrive there, firmly as an outsider. An outsider looking to metaphorically peer behind the curtains of the forester’s land, to witness and record myself that which could be seen and experienced.”

‘A Fortunate Man’s Place: A Story about a Story’ is, for me, a particular type of photographic zine - photozine - I might sit with longer than others due to the inclusion of text. Starr’s writing accompanies his photographs every few pages, offering references to Berger’s and Mohr’s book along with his reflections on his own visit, the passing of time and documentary photography. In doing so, the photographer has given us a glimpse into not only the village of St. Briavels but also the meaning of photography for Steve Starr.

With sixty-eight pages plus cover in A5-size landscape format, this is a small but substantial photozine project with an insightful commentary on its own genesis and resolution. And it’s very nicely done.

You can contact Steve about this zine, and read more of his writing on analogue photography, via his Blog: photieplace.wordpress.com

Follow him on Twitter @Stig_Ofthedump

All images © Steve Starr and used here with permission.

I’m delighted to announce that there will be a live discussion with four of the five North Wales-based photographers who feature in the opening section of the latest issue #008 of Offline Journal - and you are invited to join us!

Mark Moran, Geoff Wedge, Emyr Payne and Neil Johansson - all actively making photographs along the A55 in North Wales - will join me.
**UPDATE** - unfortunately Garry Stuart who made his important ‘Hirael’ work in Bangor in 1978 can no longer join the discussion due to unforeseen circumstances.**

Keep 7.30pm on Wednesday 25 May free in your diary to join us live - and listen to the photographers dig a bit deeper into their work but also have the opportunity to ask them any questions you might have. Rather than using Zoom and the distractions of video, this will be an audio-only session delivered using the relatively new Callin application which is blazing a trail in ‘social podcasting’ - allowing listeners to be participants in live conversations.

Callin is free and really easy to use - a bit like a big group telephone chat but better. You can either listen to our first Offline discussion on the App or streamed live on the Offline Journal ‘show’ page which has now launched on the Callin website - however, you can only participate in the discussion by using the App.

You can download Callin - FREE - for your iPhone or Android smartphone using the links below or visit www.callin.com for more info. Then, follow the Offline Journal show on the App to receive a notification shortly before the conversation starts live at 7.30pm on the 25th May.

Photography Exhibitions & Events

Here’s a list of exhibitions in Wales shared with me.
If you’re aware of any others planned for 2022, please leave a comment or direct the photographer or gallery representative my way via: offline.journal@gmail.com

DAVID HURN: SWAPS
David Hurn / Various
23 October 2021 - 29 August 2022 (extended)
National Museum Wales, Cardiff
www.museum.wales

CITY STORIES : Cardiff 1969 - 1977
Pete Davis26 April - 21 May 2022
Found Gallery, Brecon
www.foundgallery.co.uk

*EVENT (rescheduled)*: Pete Davis will be giving a talk 7pm on Wednesday 18 May at Found Gallery. To book a free place for ‘Observations - Collections - Recollections: A lifetime in Photography’ - click here for the TicketSource event page

BRECON BEACONS GARDEN
Ceri Leigh
1 March - 31 May 2022
Llandough Hospital, Cardiff
www.cardiffandvale.art

FISHERWOMEN
Craig Easton5 March - 14 May 2022
Oriel Colwyn, Colwyn Bay

Keep an eye on the Oriel Colwyn website for updates on future Photo Film Club screenings.
www.orielcolwyn.org

THE LAST VALLEY
Huw Alden Davies
19 March - 28 May 2022
Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen
www.orielmyrddingallery.co.uk

DOCUMENTARY, ZINES & SUBVERSION
Café Royal Books
14 April - 12 June 2022
Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol
www.martinparrfoundation.org

CALON WLÂN
Bruce Cardwell
15 April - 7 June 2022
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
www.aber.ac.uk/artscentre

DAVID HURN: NEWPORT
David Hurn
7 May - 17 June 2022
Ffoto Newport, Newport
www.facebook.com/FfotoNewport

*EVENT*
CAPTURING A COMMUNITY
Billie Charity & John Bulmer in discussion
27 May 2022 at 11.30am
HAY FESTIVAL, Hay-on-Wye
www.hayfestival.com

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Various photographers / Natural History Museum
27 May - 29 August 2022
National Museum, Cardiff
www.museum.wales

*EVENT*
ANOTHER COUNTRY SEMINAR DAY
Gerry Badger; and various photographers
11 June 2022
Launch event for a new major publication from Gerry Badger and Thames & Hudson – Another Country, British Documentary Photography since 1945 – showcasing the social and cultural history of Britain since the Second World War. This is a ticket event.
www.martinparrfoundation.org/events/another-country

What is lost...what has been
John Paul Evans
17 June - 3 September 2022
Ffotogallery, Cardiff
www.ffotogallery.org

*EVENT*
THE EYE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL 2022
7 - 9 October 2022
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
www.theeyefestival.com