"If you've been to Eastbourne's Towner gallery lately, you may have seen some of Jem Southam's photography in the New Eyes exhibition. One of the UK's leading photographers, Southam is best known for his contemplative colour landscape collections, often captured over decades. His pieces are particularly distinctive due to the large format film camera he uses to produce pictures with incredible depth and intensity. I was particularly drawn to the somewhat eerie picture of Ditchling Dewpond that is in the current exhibition, so was thrilled to be invited by Visit Eastbourne to go along to hear Jem Southam give a talk at Towner last Saturday. In front of a full house, he revealed the man behind the pictures, sharing some of the stories, ideas and inspiration behind his work.
Transporting us back to when he left art school in the early Seventies, the charismatic photographer explained his quest to unravel the English landscape on film, by getting up close and personal with it. His artistic journey began in earnest in 1975 when as fresh faced romantics, he and his brother embarked on an unplanned adventure - hitchhiking, walking and sleeping under the stars, hoping to be inspired. The trip brought some memorable experiences - including a terrifying encounter with a thunderstorm and a magical intimate moment with a hare - but failed to spur on the photographic mission, which is when Southam decided he needed to work with landscapes that were more personal to him and began exploring places closer to home.
Describing his desire to unlock the "narrative myths of the landscape", the photographer went on to talk about several of his epic projects in fascinating detail, relaying a string of anecdotes about the people and places that inspired the photographs. Coming from a part of the coast where the phenomenon is common, I was particularly intrigued by his obsession with rockfalls and the dramatic pictures that in his words explore "the vertical's desire for the horizontal". In what many may see as simply a pile of stones, this man finds symbols of the movement of time and space, and persisted for six years in pursuit of the perfect example. The series of pictures he showed at the event were taken in the Isle of Wight, our very own Seven Sisters, and across the channel on the Normandy coast (a rare departure from home turf).
As well as capturing this type of natural geological occurrence, Southam also explained his interest in landscapes that have been created through industrial processes, such as rivers formed from clay extraction. In fact, rivers in general have been a source of fascination to him, particularly in respect of how other people perceive them. Early on he was interested in the Red River (turned that colour by waste from a nearby tin mine) in Cornwall, and even dedicated an entire book of photographs to it.
For the last half or or so of the talk, we were treated to an in-depth insight into a particularly intense and lengthy project involving a pond and a patch of land - which was a lot more engaging than it sounds. Over several years, Southam visited said pond, to witness and capture the process of one man's attempt to transform the place from scrubby junk pit to Arcadian idyll. Although a lot of changes were made, the vision was never realised and eventually someone else took over with a completely different approach. Throughout all of this, Southam continued to be drawn to the spot and pursued his quest to philosophically investigate its evolution, through the lens.
What came through the most from all his stories and anecdotes is that Southam looks at landscapes in the way that many people will approach people photography - seeking the details and nuances that expose the innermost characteristics of the subject. His closeness to, and perseverance for, the subject make his pictures more accessible and compelling to the end viewer. As a keen amateur photographer and someone who has taken great pleasure in capturing the landscapes of Sussex over many years, I found Southam's passion for his art extremely infectious. Next time I am wandering the beaches under Falling Sands, I shall be looking at (and photographing) the rockfalls in a whole new light.
Towner's New Eyes exhibition, featuring two of Jem Southam's pictures, runs until 22nd April: http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/exhibition/new-eyes. He also has a number of photography books available via Amazon: http://amzn.to/zaJplR
Towner runs regular artist talks - have a look at its web site for details of upcoming events: http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/events/talks-tours-events."
Guest post by Rowan Stanfield - http://www.rowanstanfield.com/
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