Brighton Photography Biennial 2018
A New Europe
The Brighton Photo Biennial explores the important geographical events of our time. The UK's status within the EU may be changing, but geographically we will remain part of Europe. Most of the photos within the exhibitions respond to the current uncertainty of the referendum. It also explores Britain's geography as an Island, how it is divided and connected. Some of the photos reflect on the ongoing refugee crisis and photography's role in the construction of national identity.
These are some of my favourite pieces that I saw at the exhibitions. I was drawn to the first photograph as I liked the texture of the tarpaulin and the way it was cropped as a close up. I found the second photograph particularly striking for its use of orange tones and the fact that you can see a faint silhouette of an animal in the background. I liked the displays in the last two photographs. I feel that the use of space enhances the shape and structure of the photographs. I also found it interesting how the photographs faded away over time.
Tereza Červeňová
Červeňová’s early work went on to garner the kind of success most art students can only dream of. Responding to the most ubiquitous of first-year briefs 'identity' she produced a set of black-and-white portraits of young women struggling to live up to the standards of contemporary beauty. She was one of the winners of the 5 Under 30: Young Photographers’ Competition in 2013, and was exhibited at the Daniel Blau gallery in London. Two years later, Červeňová won the prestigious John Kobal New Work Award for “Yngvild”, her portrait of a young woman in a contemporary domestic setting that had all the undercurrents of a pre-Raphaelite painting.
Červeňová took photographs around the time of Brexit and the after effects of the referendum. She travelled around Europe documenting a range of different people. Červeňová made a political statement with this series of work. The first photograph is of a family shielding themselves from the rain on the same day as the first anti-Brexit march. The mood of the photograph is dreary and dull, which could be ironically reflecting the anger of the protesters.
