Image © Sukhy Hullait

The topics for our Zoom meeting held 13 October 2021 were “Poetic Licence” and “Own Projects”.

Poetic Licence: Tony Nicholls felt he had taken poetic licence in his technical manipulation of images, either in changing the tonality of his beautiful Borrowdale and Skiddaw landscapes, in removing chewing gum spots from his streetscape, or simply by converting from colour to B&W to evoke the past. Edey’s radically different approach curates a set of images of water and plants to reflect a poem by Alice Oswald’s poem referencing the lines “.. if only I a passerby could pass / as clear as water through a plume of grass /to find the sunlight hidden at the tip..”. Anna’s poetry is through the act of seeing and capturing the images that “break the rules”. Her city skyline half hidden by a fence gave the illusion of a submerged London, prescient of global warming. Robin, inspired by Saul Leiter, uses ICM to created ambiguity and his lady with umbrella has muted colours which appear to be washed by the rain. The creator of the Bayeaux tapestry, photographed by Austin, has taken poetic licence with story that Harold was killed by an arrow in the eye – as always history is written by victor. Steve’s man with his bold black and white placard declaring that we should “wake up Satan’s brainwashed cattle” seems to have taken poetic licence with the teachings of the bible.

Own Projects Shooting on film, Frankie’s photo diary switches between occupied blocks of flats and abandoned building which still reveal the remnants of previous use. Her torn Grenfell Tower poster highlight the community’s unhealed scars. Sue Czapska was also fascinated by abandoned space, a derelict cowshed whose pale greens and blues offset by complementary rusty browns are reminiscent of an art installation. Geoff’s sketchbook shows found objects lying on a variety of textured surfaces, allowing the viewer to see familiar objects or patterns in otherwise random or unrelated objects (pareidolia), but begs the question of why does he choose to photograph and curate these particular images. Nusse has been photographing overbridges, with silhouetted figures, through the sometimes dirty windscreen as her daughter drives along the motorway. Sukhy has a long-running project which he calls ‘Still’, those quiet moments between things and events, and in the poetic dancing of a leaf which appears to float in space. How is it supported? – Sukhy prefers not to find out.

Tony Nicholls

Edith Templeton

Anna Lerner

Robin Barr

Steve Jones

Janet Nabney

Frankie McAllister

Sue Czapska

Geoff Titley

Nusse Mechthild Belton

Sukhy Hullait