InstantLondon : Leicester Square
Category: news
Hello 2015 – On a wing and a prayer
Taylor Wessing ’14 at the NPG
Popped by the National Portrait Gallery this evening to catch the 2014 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize whom I have been following since 2003. This year’s finalists again, are varied in their styles, and some are rather predictable. There are however some gems, like the above catalogue cover image titled Arvi by Sami Parkkinen. There are also a smattering of portraits of celebrities or persons of significance, like Steven McQueen, Silvio Berlusconi, and Lenny Henry. My pick of the show is Stella by Michele Aboud (below).
.
This image above by Ian Atkinson was also a finalist entry in KL International Photoawards 2014 and was exhibited in Kuala Lumpur in August 2014. (Lewisham Chair of Council, Cllr, Obajimi Adefiranye, from series The London Borough Mayors 2013-2014)
The exhibition at the NPG runs till 22 February 2015.
Rockin’ Around..
USA – CUBA
Musicians from La Bodeguita del Medio, Havana 2011
What great news to end 2014, hopefully to be passed by Congress. USA will begin normalisation talks with Cuba following over 50 years of sanctions in trade and diplomatic relations. We went there as a photography workshop group in 2011 and found the Cubans to be warm and friendly, open and very resourceful. No doubt there will be inevitable changes should travel restrictions be lifted, on both sides.
Virgin, Ronciglione
A brief afternoon tour of some nearby medieval hill towns in northern Rome, took me to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Catherine, in Ronciglione in Viterbo on my third day. This statue of the Virgin with the crown of 12 Stars represents the Woman in the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II
I have been to Rome several times, and each time, a new experience surfaces. Depending on the time of the year and the season, Rome either attracts or repel me. In the height of summer, you can literally be smothered with dust and the heavy air with the stifling heat, but in the winter months, the city can be serene and grand. Actually it is always grand. Like a living museum, the city and the Romans who live here provides a visual entertainment, full of historicities, stylish fashion and the typical reserved warmth of Italians. Rome of course is a city steeped in history, and a crossroads of peoples from all over, a meeting point and a cultural mishmash. Not least, due to the fact that Vatican City, the seat of the Catholic Church welcomes millions of pilgrims from all over the globe throughout year, especially in the warmer months.
We signed our last MALAYSIANS book!
Today, at Dapur, London overlunch, Haliza and myself signed the last copy of Malaysians a photobook which we jointly published in 2006 with a print run of 2,000 copies. We collaborated on this simple but informative book about Malaysia, Malaysians and our varied ethnic make up with simple head shot portraits.
Below is what I wrote in 2006 :
“MALAYSIANS Photographs by Steven Lee and text by Haliza Hashim-Doyle
A new coffee table book celebrating the unique and diverse ethnicity of Malaysia today : Hardback 148mm x 210mm 512 Pages
“Few things amaze visitors to Malaysia, besides its incredible economic development, than the diversity of its people. Even then, if one only visits one city or two, or a beach or mountain resort, the full spectrum of the multiethnic salad we call Malaysia cannot be fully appreciated. It is only when we see photographs of all of them, side by side as in this book that we know what Malaysian diversity truly means.” Foreword by Marina Mahathir.
The idea of producing another pictorial book on Malaysia came about in 2005 when I noticed that there was not a single publication in the bookstores in Malaysia and in the UK, that depicted the people of the country. There were several existing publications showing the sights of the country, its many amazing places of interests and our national monuments, but none showed the diversity of Malaysians, its fascinating mix of races, its cultural heritage and its rich traditions.
From this point of departure, I began researching into this project and gathered my resources together and now, am glad to say, the project is underway. As a portrait photographer I am always on the look out for an interesting face. It is after all, a face that one sees first, as a visitor to a new country or place, it is also the first impression of a nation.
The book does not aim to document each and every race and creed. That would be quite impossible. However, it does represent a true cross-section of the nation as I see it during our travels across the length and breadth of the country. This glimpse of a ‘Malaysian’ identity, a vision of a Bangsa Malaysia, will be evident through the faces I portray and the stories and quotes that follow, will hopefully encompass all.
A country like Malaysia thus begins this series, because it is my Malaysia, my country and my people. SL”
We have feelings too
Rue de France
La Madeleine
Our Lady of Lourdes chapel, La Madeleine, Paris
A brief visit to Paris this week brought me to the Madeleine district in Paris in search of parking space. After dropping by at Galerie-T in Cadet to see the Tokyo-Ga Imaginary Bookstore set up, I had intended to visit the Gary Winogrand exhibition at the Jeu de Paume at Concorde, but having got there, I found a long queue which I had not planned sufficient time to stay lodged at. Disappointed, on the way back to the underground garage, I popped into the imposing neo-classical La Madeleine church, at the end of Rue Faubourg St Honore.
explorenation.net ~ photography posts, workshops, writings and thoughts by Steven V-L Lee 
You must be logged in to post a comment.