Elisabeth Hoff releases 'Drowning in Plastic', a haunting series of images to highlight the Great British Beach Clean, an annual event organised by The Marine Conservation Society.

Elisabeth Hoff is a photographer, director, and art director creating high end imagery for clients in the UK and abroad. Prior to this, she studied Marine Biology and grew up sailing around the world with her family. Inspired by her background she has most recently turned her lens to the single-use plastics that are clogging our oceans.

Working in collaboration with the Marine Conservation Society the images and film are being released to encourage people to sign up and get involved with The Great British Beach Clean, taking place on the 20th - 23rd September 2019.

Each image focusses on a single-use plastic such as plastic bags, bottles, cutlery, balloons, and glitter. Using her skillset as a fashion photographer, Elisabeth wanted to do a “beautiful take on a dirty subject”. The series shows models swimming through water - either surrounded or entangled in these single-use items. The pollutants’ appearance changes to almost become a representation of the wildlife in our oceans, and therefore reinforces the fact that without action, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the sea than fish.

The Great British Beach Clean is an annual event organised by The Marine Conservation Society which calls on the British public to volunteer a couple of hours of their time to help clean a 100m section of beach, and record the litter that they find. In 2018, 494 beaches were cleared by a record 15,000 volunteers, clearing an incredible 8550 kilos of litter - meaning that 600 items of litter were found on every 100 meters of the UK coastline.

The project has been integral in creating change in how we use single-use plastic and was instrumental in bringing about the 5p carrier bag charge, which has resulted in a 50% drop in plastic bags found on beaches, as well as a reduction in the use of plastic straws, and the banning of micro-beads in wash-off products, and lantern and balloon releases.

“Using my skillset as a fashion photographer, I felt compelled to create a body of work that might inspire people to take some kind of action with regards to their personal consumption of single-use plastics. As human beings we are incredibly resourceful, and if we all get together and do our bit, I’m sure we can make positive changes fast, and start to find solutions to this growing issue”. Elisabeth Hoff, Photographer

We’ve been running The Great British Beach Clean for over 25 years, and last year we saw over 15,000 volunteers taking to the UK coast to help us clean and survey beaches. Our society is becoming increasingly aware of the urgent problem of plastic pollution, and it’s thanks to campaigns such as Elisabeth’s, which show the problem though a new, creative lens, that we hope to engage more volunteers than ever this September, to help stop the plastic tide and join us for this important task”. Sandy Luk, CEO of the Marine Conservation Society.

Sign up to a clean near you at https://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/greatbritishbeachclean and if you can’t find an event on your preferred beach, call 01989 566017 and find out how to organise your own.

Notes to Editors

The Great British Beach Clean takes place across the country on the 20th - 23rd September 2019.

Elisabeth Hoff

Elisabeth Hoff is a London based photographer, director and art director, creating imagery for clients in the UK and abroad. She has worked internationally for various magazines and corporate clients and most recently shot the cover for the September issue of Cosmopolitan. www.elisabethhoff.com

Marine Conservation Society

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores, and wildlife. MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, and the protection of marine life. Through education, community involvement, and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that face our seas and promotes individual, industry, and government action to protect the marine environment. MCS provides information and guidance on many aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide and the Good Fish Guide, as well as involving thousands of volunteers in projects and surveys such as MCS Beach Watch. www.mcsuk.org

"We all know that an image can say a thousand words - and also has the power to make great impact. But not if nobody sees it. Thanks to Blah PR my “Drowning in Plastic” series and awareness campaign for the Marine Conservation Society has been a massive success with media coverage I could only have dreamed of. As a result we have made an impact on getting volunteers signed up to join The Great British Beach Clean, and inspired people to take personal action with regards to the ocean plastic pollution issue. And we also have the stats to prove it. Thank you Mark!" Elisabeth Hoff

““We were delighted with the coverage that Mark was able to secure for our Great British Beach Clean, using Elisabeth Hoff’s wonderful imagery. He was a pleasure to work with, and with his help, we achieved one of our biggest ever events with thousands of volunteers helping to clean up beaches over that weekend”. Nicola Greaves, Head of Marketing, Marine Conservation Society

British Journal of Photography  announces the shortlist and 100 winners for this year's Portrait of Britain exhibition in association with JCDecaux UK

Portrait of Britain, is the largest exhibition of contemporary portrait photography ever held, as much a celebration of photography as it is a celebration of the diversity of our country’s people. Now in its fourth year, British Journal of Photography has launched the nationwide exhibition across JCDecaux UK’s national channel of digital screens.

The public will encounter the winning photographs as they go about their daily lives; in rail stations, shopping malls, high streets, and at Heathrow Airport.

Following an open call by British Journal of Photography earlier this year, thousands of portraits were submitted, and judges had the task of selecting the 200 shortlisted images from that number. All 200 images will be printed in the Portrait of Britain Book Vol.2, published by Hoxton Mini Press, and released on 5 September.

Once again the range of images reflects the unique diversity of modern Britain, with portraits ranging from Max Miechowski’s portrait of a young couple salsa dancing in Burgess Park in London, to Shaun Ryder glaring at the the camera for his portrait by Theo McInnes. Some are chance encounters, some are staged for the camera, but all are arresting in their portrayal of the British people. Some, like Sirli Raitma’s portrait of her mother, also have a healing quality. Raitma started taking pictures of her mother to help her combat depression after moving to London widowed and suffering from epilepsy, and the portraits have helped combat this and boosted her confidence.

“We are delighted to be part of Portrait of Britain for its fourth year. This unique collaboration with British Journal of Photography utilises the reach and scale of Digital Out-of-Home to showcase 100 winning portraits of people from many different walks of life across the UK. By celebrating and championing diversity, this exhibition will undoubtedly inspire people as they shop, travel, and socialise in cities nationwide.” Mark Bucknell, Chief Commercial Officer at JCDecaux UK.

“With the return of Portrait of Britain, the question of national identity has never seemed so loaded. Facing a divided nation, Portrait of Britain aims to frame these questions of identity differently, looking at who we are as a nation of individuals, apart from the politics of division. From Brighton to Glasgow, in train stations and shopping centres, the photographs come into view like an encounter with a stranger in the street. Collectively, they question the binary narrative we are constantly fed.” Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director of British Journal of Photography.

The winning images will be displayed as part of the Portrait of Britain exhibition until 30 September, to be viewed across the country for one month. The book, published by Hoxton Mini Press, will be launched on 5 September.

100 Winners Gallery

200 Shortlisted images

Few would dispute that Glastonbury Festival is a place like no other on Earth – it’s an experience only fully understood by those who have traipsed through its fields almost ever summer for the last 48 years. In 2019 the festival returned after a year off and everyone’s excitement was building, and even though the headlines were focused on the Pyramid Stage and the celebrities spotted in the wings, there is a host of other people who make the Festival what it has become today. 

in 2006 photographer Matthew Joseph attended his first Glastonbury and discovered what all the fuss was about, but also noticed the diversity and freedom of the nearly 200,000 people on Worthy Farm.

“It is a safe place, a place lacking in judgment and a place of free expression. This naturally creates one of life’s great melting pots of people – one which I was keen to capture on camera,” he says.

The Pilton Project provides the viewer with a brief snapshot of life beyond the main stages – attempting to reach the core of what, and who, makes Glastonbury what it is. From young to old, fringe performers to circus acts, sewage collectors to charity workers – each of these people had their own unique reason for travelling to Worthy Farm, and each are truly fascinating in their own way. 

The project was featured in The Daily Mail and received a 4 page feature in Shades of Grey Magazine among others.

The 50 winning and 200 shortlisted Portrait of Humanity images have been announced.

1854 Media, publisher of British Journal of Photography, in partnership with Magnum Photos, have created Portrait of Humanity - an award aiming to unite the global community through the power of photography. The winning and shortlisted portraits have now been revealed to the world. They show that there is more that unites us than sets us apart.

The judging panel, comprised of international industry leaders, have selected the 50 winning portraits. Each will be exhibited at celebrated galleries, museums and photography festivals across the world.

The 50 winning portraits will embark on a global tour from September 2019 - January 2020.

● September 2019, Organ Vida International Photography Festival, Zagreb, Croatia

● October – November 2019, LagosPhoto Festival, Lagos, Nigeria

● November 2019, National Centre For Photography, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

● November 2019 – January 2020, Louisiana State Museum as part of PhotoNOLA Festival, New Orleans, United States

The 200 shortlisted portraits will be featured in the Portrait of Humanity book, published by Hoxton Mini Press and distributed worldwide. The Portrait of Humanity book is available to order here.

View the 50 winning images here: bjp.photo/pohwinner

View the 200 shortlisted images here: bjp.photo/pohshortlist

The 100 commended images, chosen by Clear Channel, will be announced in the coming weeks. These will be displayed on Clear Channel out-of-home digital screens worldwide, and seen by millions.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will share $10,000 in grant awards, to create projects that explore their interpretations of humanity. They will also be announced in late summer before the tour takes place.

portraitofhumanity.co #portraitofhumanity

The international press coverage for the project reached nearly 900 million people around the world , including BBC World, Australian Photography, Digital SLR Photography Malaysia, Fotopolis Poland, Focus Magazine Holland, New York Times, The Guardian and Xataka Photo in Spain,

“After working on Portrait of Britain since it started, we decided to ask Mark to work on the newly launched Portrait of Humanity. The coverage reached millions of people around the world including a great interview on BBC World. We look forward to working with him on future projects.” Melanie Philippe, Awards Director, 1854 Media

Photographer Giles Revell’s series of images reinterpret the colours of well-known flowers, abstracting them to eliminate the distraction of form; petals and stems are reduced to accurate graphic examinations of the consistent hues.

The images, first printed in Cartographic Colour, a book published by Concentric Editions, were photographed partly on site at RHS Wisley using live specimens, and partly in Revell’s studio using cut flowers, meaning the level of detail contained in the images is highly impactful.

In May 2019 the images were displayed against the lush green backdrop of Crossrail Place Roof Garden, a tropical oasis in Canary Wharf. Printed as large format photographs and displayed around the garden the vibrancy of the images jump out of the foliage as you walk around.

Canary Wharf offers world-class, year-round arts and events programme presenting over 200 diverse and culturally inspiring events and exhibitions throughout the Estate.

Giles was interviewed for London Live as part of the project, and was also featured in the Canary Wharf Magazine, and Wharf Life newspaper.

The Association of Photographers (AOP) Awards 2019

Lobby, One Canada Square Canary Wharf

15th April – 31st May 2019

The AOP Awards gather together the best of the best in the photography world to celebrate the captured image. Now in its 35th Year, the Awards are seen as the Oscars of the photography world and in 2019 had over 2,000 entries in the various categories, a 15% rise on the previous year.

With the Photography Awards only open to members of the AOP, anyone is eligible to enter the Open Awards, making it a great starting point for new and upcoming talent. A first for 2019, the “Innovation” category highlighted the use of technology to make images, reflecting the changes in the industry as a whole.

Returning to 2018’s AOP50 exhibition venue, the images were displayed in the Lobby of One Canada Square for 7 weeks starting in mid-April, making 2019 the longest running public exhibition in the Awards’ history.

All 240 finalist images were on display for the public to view free of charge, and the winners were announced at a special event on 14th May in the East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf attended by 1,000 people.

The exhibition was on show in April as part of Canary Wharf’s ongoing temporary exhibition programme. Since the inception of Canary Wharf’s cultural master plan, the arts have played an important role in the development and success of the 128-acre Estate. Canary Wharf has one of the UK’s largest collections of public art, with more than 70 permanent works by over 50 world-renowned artists.

For a full list of the winners please visit the AOP Awards website

Selected Coverage

BBC News

Daily Mirror

The Guardian

The Independent

London Live

Yahoo India

Ria Russia

“Handing over the PR for the Awards 2019 was definitely a decision well made! Mark worked tirelessly to acquire coverage in all the major press, along with an interview with London Live. We look forward to developing our relationship with Mark as we collaborate once again for the Awards 2020.“ Rachel Rogers, Marketing Manager, Association of Photographers

Jason Koxvold & Aldo Varisco - Published by Gnomic Book

Calle Tredici Martiri (Alley of the Thirteen Martyrs) is a fictionalised photographic reinterpretation of Jason Koxvold’s grandfather Aldo Varisco’s campaign of direct action against the Nazi incursion into Italy. The book is comprised of 144 pages of Koxvold’s photographs and 80 pages of Varisco’s memoirs of the resistance, illustrated with archival imagery.

The books’ title refers to the location of the Venetian headquarters of the National Republication Guard at Ca Giustinian, which Varisco’s team destroyed with explosives in 1944, killing 13. The following day, the Germans shot 13 Italian prisoners in retribution for the attack; Varisco and his team were later captured and extensively tortured. After the war, the street was alongside Ca Giustinian was renamed “Calle Tredici Martiri”.

Today, the United States is involved in the longest war in the nations history, fought against nebulous and invisible terrorists – with yet no end in sight. This project explores the impossibility of photographic truth in the context of the contemporary nexus of capitalism, fascism and consumerism within which we locate ourselves.

Ca Giustinian is today the site of the offices of the Venice Biennale.

www.gnomicbook.com

As part of the coverage Jason was interviewed by British Journal of Photography, as well as being featured in Wallpaper*, Focus Magazine from Holland, and also Il Post in Italy.

Brockley Max is a nine-day community arts festival celebrating local talent. It takes place in lots of different venues across Brockley, Ladywell, Crofton Park and Honor Oak and is a non-profit festival that everyone can attend and be part of.

Brockley Max is held the first week in June each year. The Opening Night will take place on the first Friday of the festival from 4pm to 10.30pm by Brockley station and features live bands, singers and dance performances. This vibrant, open-air concert, with an audience of over 600, always gets the party started!

The festival was featured on various local websites and also in Time Out, The Spectator, and The Resident, and Festival Director Moira Tait was interviewed for the Back To The Drawing Board Podcast.

“Mark worked with the Brockley Max Festival to increase our media coverage, both locally and to the wider community. He knew exactly what we needed, was proactive and thought creatively to increase our reach. He was a joy to work with and would I thoroughly recommend him.” Moira Tait, Festival Director

A free photography exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of China’s Reform and Opening was launched on Monday 10 December at London’s Kings Cross Station.  

Commissioned by the China International Culture & Image Communication Corporation “Reform and Dreams” featured 80 stunning individual photographs taken over the last 40 years by photographers of the Xinhua News Agency, China’s biggest and most influential media organisation.  Giving a unique insight into the lives of Chinese people, this was the first time the images have been shown together and many had never been seen before in the United Kingdom.

Each of the 80 images capture offer insight into daily life in China since 1978 and showcase the close relationship between China and the United Kingdom, over what has proven to be an extraordinary time of change to China’s development path.  Together the images show the power of the Chinese people and detail how Reform and Opening Up in China have enabled its people aspire to better lives and explore beyond their borders.

For a limited time, this free photography exhibition was positioned throughout the concourse of London’s King’s Cross station before it went on to Paris.

Mr Gu, Chief of Xinhua’s London Bureau comments: “Never before has such a unique photographic celebration of China’s Reform and Opening Up been brought to London.  With this exhibition we want to show a developing China, and the optimism and enthusiasm of Chinese people in the process of this development.

  “Every Chinese person has played their part in these 40 years of history. Their dreams have converged to form the irresistible power that has propelled China’s development. This exhibition tells the stories of the lives of these ordinary Chinese people for whom past four decades have meant so much.”

The Exhibition was featured in the Daily Mail, the worlds biggest news website, UK Chinese Times, The European Times, and CreativeBoom.

“Mark is a pleasure to work with. He completely understood the needs of the client, gave good consultation on how to position the work and delivered strong media coverage within a very limited time period.  Most impressive was the fact that Mark did not stop pitching after securing the first round of coverage, instead he continued to ensure every avenue had been exhausted before completing the campaign.” Jill Cotton, World Photography Organisation

A deliciously visual illustrated book of works by the artist,  Co-published by Concentric Editions and Sylph Editions 

Slipping in and out of character is the central theme of Paper Dolls, a deliciously visual illustrated book on the cut-out collage artworks of artist Hormazd Narielwalla.

Born in India and living in London, Narielwalla has carved out his unique place on the contemporary art scene as the master puppeteer, instilling new life into paper shapes from the past through the creation of rich layers of meaning, symbolism, and sublime abstract patterns of colour and form alike. His work has recently been shown at Southbank Centre and the Royal Academy.

Paper Dolls brings together a collection of the acclaimed artist’s signature abstract collage artworks on vintage sewing patterns, alongside a set of figurative self-portraits, where Narielwalla casts himself as a mysterious geisha. Inspired by an chance encounter with an elegant lady in the streets of Soho, the artist began to wonder what it would be like to be her and through this he found himself delving into the mysteries and contradictions of identity in a multifarious world, and takes the viewer along with him as he conjures up paper dolls, hidden gardens, people, and portraits.

In her introduction to Paper Dolls, Gill Saunders, Senior Curator for Prints at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, notes that putting on new clothes can produce or release a new self and can transform the wearer’s consciousness. From Claude Cahun to Cindy Sherman, artists have played with what novelist Marina Warner has called ‘the mercurial slipperiness of identity’ by dressing up, and making up, inventing other selves to explore the world from a different perspective. Masquerade, a tradition in many cultures, is likewise an opportunity to adopt disguise as a means of disinhibition, allowing the wearer to ignore conventional norms of behaviour, to be playful or provocative. With Paper Dolls, Saunders observes, Hormazd Narielwalla draws on this rich tradition of masquerade and cross-dressing to weave a beguiling narrative in which he becomes one of the paper dolls who people his collages and prints.

A consistent thread running through his work has been the melding of different cultures – from the Mexican exotica that is fundamental to the self-fashioning of Frida Kahlo, to the mysteries of the Far East embodied in the elaborate formality and lavish decoration of the Japanese geisha. Like a character in a fairy tale, he conjures himself into a new identity by the shape- shifting transformative power of dress, picturing himself as an impassive geisha, in a sequence of costumes exquisitely crafted from cut paper fragments.

Limited Edition of 250 copies, and 4 x hors serie, worldwide made up of;

225 x Special Editions - £180.00

25 x Collectors Editions with a signed print and a bespoke box - £445.00

www.concentriceditions.com

The book was featured in Portfolio Magazine, the 1st Class magazine for Emirates Airlines and was also the cover feature. Also, the artist was interviewed by The Pool Magazine and Design Pataki in India, and the book was also featured in Christie’s Magazine, State Magazine and It’s Nice That.

“Mark worked on the launch of my book - Paper Dolls. The book was featured in a spectrum of magazine and online editorials, with a cover story feature in Emirates Magazine. I had a really good working relationship with Mark, who was always professional and really easy to talk to.” Hormazd Narielwalla

Eden Fine Art held the first UK exhibition for Angelo Accardi entitled MISPLACED, which opened in Mayfair on Thursday 25th October 2018. 

Accardi’s latest collection continued to explore the unconscious mind in colourful, symbolic, and layered artworks, presenting a viewpoint that is full of humour, wit, and great beauty. His complex, neo-surrealist paintings and austere neoclassical sculptures connect artists, characters, and artistic styles across centuries of Art in a collection that references history while remaining contemporary.

Using contrasting references to create “opposite poles” his images use repeated presences such as the minion, the rhino, and the ostrich, to highlight the material nature and contradiction of the man who creates with so much passion, and destroys with malice and ease. 

The launch event was attended by over 450 people with DJ Will Best providing the music, while aerial performers and costume characters entertained the guests.

Coverage included FAD, Wall Street International and CreativeBoom

The latest and final release in Australian photographer Tom Blachford’s long-running project, Midnight Modern, was exhibited for the first time at TOTH Gallery in New York in October 2018. 

Loosening the shackles of Palm Springs and Mid Century, Blachford’s exhibition of 12 large scale works explored some of the outer reaches of the Modernist movement in Architecture, and captured using only the light of the full moon. 

Blachfords series is a surreal ode to the landscapes of California and its cache of pristine Modernist buildings. Shot entirely at night, bathed in moonlight, the homes, vintage cars, and foliage appear as they have been captured in another space and time. Recognising the locations may be easy, but it is more difficult to identity when the image was actually taken, be this day or night, in the past, present, or future. The images act as portals in time where it seems these moments exist in all places at once. 

For Blachford these unique residences act as the sets for infinite narratives, both real and imagined, which the viewer is invited to script for themselves. Each image acts as a still frame for a story about to start and end simultaneously. 

California has a unique geography and climate, and this gives rise to a distinct deep blue sky: a hue of moonlight ideal for this approach to architectural photography. The long exposure allows the camera to capture a world just beyond our perception and distil it into a single moment. 

The exhibition was featured in British Journal of Photography, Aesthetica, Architectural Digest USA, Buzzfeed, and Dezeen among others.

"Mark brought experience, humour, perseverance and a wonderful eye to to the table and helped me to achieve a result well beyond my initial goals. I will be using his services on anything and everything i can in the future. What a guy" Tom Blachford

Alys Tomlinson, Sony World Photographer of the Year 2018, is to publish a book of her acclaimed series Ex-Voto. Selected from over 300,000 entries, she is only the second British photographer in the award’s history to scoop the major prize. The Ex-Voto series was also awarded 1st Prize in the Discovery Category of the Sony World Photography Awards and shortlisted for the British Journal of Photography IPA, Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, and Renaissance Photography Prize.

The series explores the Christian pilgrimage sites of Lourdes (France), Ballyvourney (Ireland) and Grabarka (Poland). An ex-voto is an offering of religious devotion and the project images encompass formal portraiture, large format landscape and small, detailed still-life images of the objects and markers left behind. Shot on 5x4, large format film, the images evoke a distinct stillness and reflect the mysterious, timeless quality present at these sites of great spiritual contemplation. 

The series will be published by GOST Books with essays by The Guardian writer Sean O'Hagan and Professor John Eade, University of Roehampton. 

To pre-order the book please visit http://www.alystomlinson.co.uk/ex-voto-book/ 

To coincide with Alys’ Kickstarter campaign she was featured in various religious publications including The Catholic Universe and The Tablet, and also interviewed for the World Photography Organisation website.

Book of ideas - vol.2 continues what designer and creative director Radim Malinic started in the first edition, offering yet more indispensable advice on making it in the creative industries. Chapters cover issues ranging from creativity for good, how to decode our own creative DNA, embracing limitations, using humour and how to entertain the “right wrongs”. It discusses how to improve design work through more skillful use of language, and in doing so, how to stir the right reactions and present well-rounded creative projects with confidence.

Among the ‘ideas’ and the work illustrating them, Book of ideas - vol.2 offers holistic guidance on better understanding yourself as a creative and how to approach your life and work in a mindful, smart way to make you a better designer, creator and thinker, at any point in your career.

Following on from the original series 2016 release and  #1 Amazon bestseller in the Graphic Arts, the latest book is taking the experiences from the previous volume, expands on his advice, and also incorporates case studies detailing the process of his work.

“The book won’t teach you how to design, but it should show you how you can be a better and more thoughtful designer, thinker, and creator. “ Malinic says.

The book was created in partnership with Adobe Stock and Malinic used Adobe Stock and Adobe Creative Cloud to create the cover artwork. The book includes a case study on the process that he followed. Adobe Stock has curated a collection containing the original assets used to create the cover to help creative enthusiasts follow along.

www.adobe.com/go/bookofideas

Available from November Universe

Coverage for the book included Digital Arts, Logo Creative and the Adobe Blog.

As part of this year's Peckham Festival, Benjamin Rice presented Wild Cherry, his series of 3m wide photographs, at ECAD Gallery on Consort Road, Peckham.

Rice was smitten the moment he saw this Wild Cherry tree on Peckham Rye, “It was everything that I had been searching for." He returned to photograph it again many times as it gradually revealed subtle nuances of character with each passing day. 

Rice says "It has personality - defiance above all. It stands proudly alone, unlike the huddled trees behind. It may have its flaws but is not afraid to flaunt them.”

"In the spring it entices with pink-white blossom; during the summer it is draped in gradually darkening shades of green. As the languid days of November near, cloaking itself in blazing reds, golds, and burned orange; and in the monochromatic days of winter when its leaves have fallen, stripped bare, exposed to the wind and the rain, it is still a beacon of beauty."

www.benjaminrice.co.uk

The Peckham Peculiar wrote about the Festival in their September issue.

Blah PR is proud to be the global press contact for media enquires concerning the Arrested Movement project. Should you have any questions regarding this photo series and the message behind it, please get in contact on mark@blahpr.co.uk

Arrested Movement - A body positive photo series of men by Anthony Patrick Manieri

In recent years, the push to include the issue of body positivity awareness into the mainstream conversation has been acknowledged in the media as a woman’s issue, but it is a human issue.  Men should be included in the same narrative; creating a unifying dialogue about loving and accepting ourselves, and with that, helping to create a ripple effect in the awareness of social consciousness.  

As a professional photographer working in fashion and portrait photography, Anthony Patrick Manieri noticed that many of his clients mentioned parts of their bodies that they were not truly conformable with, and should be hidden or photo-shopped in the final image. More and more this was the male subject who was talking in this way. We as a society are bombarded from an early age with what is considered to be beautiful and acceptable through television, movies, advertising and the dominant juggernaut of social media via our computers and smartphones.  All causing negative affects on our self-esteem, telling us we are not perfect and we need to change. 

Arrested Movement is an inclusive awareness initiative and portrait series celebrating and promoting positive body image for men. It focuses on men of all races, smooth or hairy, from thin and tall to large and short, men with physical disabilities, transgender men, as well as two-spirited men.

Manieri holds space on set for these men, allowing them to feel empowered, looking for a moment where the soul comes through, then stopping time when their authentic self meets his eye and the shutter of his camera.  A celebratory moment of self-joy, self-empowerment and self-acceptance is captured. The freedom that many of these men experience bubbles out and often overwhelms them. 

So far the project has been featured in Vogue Italia, EBT2 TV in Spain, Gay Star News, Star Observer Australia, Express Magazine New Zealand, and BARNAB Paris.

The River Thames is not even the longest river in the British Isles and a mere pygmy in comparison with many other rivers in the world, yet its significance to British and world history is immense. London is one of the major cities of the world today, but it would not have existed if it were not for the River Thames passing through it. Just before the Thames reaches London it becomes tidal and formed a natural harbour such that London has been a port since pre-Roman times. 

Still today, the Thames acts as an artery of communication and trade route between Britain and the rest of the world. Photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten is not alone in her admiration of the glories of the river. Notably, it has been an inspiration to many painters. Monet painted the river repeatedly. Turner too captured the working river even revealing the early nineteenth century fumes and smoke from the city’s factories and river traffic. Whistler was yet another. In the 1860s and 70s he was drawn to paint the bustling and rapidly changing urban neighbourhoods close to the river. But when one views all these works, it is not at all difficult to understand why they all found it such an attractive, potent subject matter.

Her own fascination with the Thames has now taken a more concrete form. She has made it into a project and is in the process of choosing, investigating and photographing a selection of cultural and historical narratives from along its banks.

Julia was interviewed on BBC World about the project, watched by a worldwide audience of 125 million people, as well as a 32 page feature in Shades of Colour Magazine.

The annual Portrait of Britain exhibition by British Journal of Photography once again took place across the country in September 2018. The winning 100 images were revealed at the end of August in time for the launch of the exhibition, which opened on the 1st September. 

Each year Portrait of Britain takes place across JCDecaux's national channel of digital screens with 100 portraits of the British public displayed in rail, retail, and roadside locations in cities nationwide  This year all 200 shortlisted images were also be printed in a book published by Hoxton Mini Press and released on the 6th September at a special event. The book can be ordered from here.

“Who are we? It’s a simple enough question, yet not so easy to answer beyond some basic assumptions. Talk about a country – in this case, one going through some serious soul-searching – then the question is more loaded. The 200 photographs in this book don’t provide any easy answers. But in a period during which we are constantly fed the narrative of a country divided, they provide a timely reminder that a nation is made up of individuals, not just the sum of our tribal interests. Each portrait is a story in itself. And collectively they present an alternative to the political rhetoric, a human face that gives some nuance to the picture of who we are.” - Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director, British Journal of Photography.

“It seems almost impossible to define what it is to be British nowadays. Yet these images, in all their diversity, captured by photographers as varied as their subject, reflect something of the richness of this nation and remind us of what there is to be celebrated. Each portrait is both surprising and intimate and in its own way, tells a small story. Some are newly born, others dying, some hopeful, others fearful. We hope the book is a powerful snapshot of a moment in our shared history that stands the test of time.” - Martin Usbourne, Co-Founder, Hoxton Mini Press.

Now in its third year the exhibition has gained momentum each year, attracting thousands of entries from amateur and professional photographers. The images were judged by Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director, British Journal of Photography; Caroline Hunter, Picture Editor, Guardian Weekend Magazine; Olivia Arthur, Magnum Photographer; and Martin Usborne, who is the Co-Founder of Hoxton Mini Press.

The shortlisted and winning photographers can be found in the Portrait of Britain gallery here - http://gallery.portraitofbritain.uk 

The 2018 exhibition was featured in various publications including BBC News both in the UK and Russia, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Sky News Breakfast, The Guardian, The Sun, and internationally in Der Spiegel (Germany), Il Foglio (Italy), Nederlands Dagblad (Holland, and Observador (Portugal).

Photographer Benjamin Rice took part in the 2018 Dulwich Festival. Showing at Bell House, his images of Dry Stone Walls are a metaphor for the marriage between nature and human endeavour. Printed landscape and measuring 3m in size, the precision and variety of nature's enrichment is only revealed when seen at this scale.

Also on display was his Tree series, a study of a tree in Peckham photographed over the past few months in various states of leaf fall. 

www.benjaminrice.co.uk

Punk artist Mal-One exhibited a series of new works at Herrick Gallery in London in May 2018. 

Never Mind The Punk 45 was a mixed-media show featuring decollages from the forerunners of the punk rock’s movement, focussing on the debut 45” releases. Cutting back from the original sleeve artwork to show snippets of related material from the band’s back story, the images were made up of press cuttings, promo badges, and tickets along with other items. 

Band included are Adam & The Ants, Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Damned, Ian Dury, Generation X, The Jam, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Stranglers, and X Ray Spex. 

Also on display was the work 100 Punks, a collage of 100 punk singles inspired by the original wall at Rough Trade that featured many a Punk record sleeve. 

To coincide with this exhibition Mal-One released a limited edition 7” single as part of this years Record Store Day.

www.herrickgallery.com

Photographer Tom Oldham announced a unique collaboration with musician and producer Andy Gangadeen, and the publicans and performers of East London institution, The Palm Tree. The Last of the Crooners comprises a set of award-winning and atmospheric portraits of the singers and musicians who play at the pub every weekend and an LP of live recordings from these sessions. 

Long-time landlords at The Palm Tree, Val and Alf Barrett welcomed all-comers to an evening of live music where a selection of the photographs, which were awarded the Professional Portrait Award at the Sony World Photography Awards 2018, were exhibited. A strictly limited vinyl edition of The Last of the Crooners album, restricted to 500 copies, is on sale at the pub on a first-come-first-served basis. (Please note this record will be only available to purchase from the pub exclusively, so as to ensure visitors will have first experienced the environment to then enjoy the music at home).

www.tomoldham.com

Tom’s exhibition was featured on BBC London, Jo Good’s BBC Radio London, Monocle 24 Radio among others.

David Magee presented his first public exhibition of landscape and seascape photographs at Herrick Gallery in February 2018. The exhibition showcased a retrospective body of work spanning twenty-five years, and coincided with the release of his limited edition book Outside, published by Concentric Editions.

This beautifully printed and meticulously produced book presents an overview of his approach to landscape photography consisting of forty-seven plates painstakingly selected from an extensive archive. Outside is a gallery in itself with a collection of images that encapsulate the essence of his atmospheric photography.

The elements - earth, water and air – and where the land and sea meet the sky, are the recurring themes that Magee works with. However, it is the composition and the combinations of light, tone and movement, as well as the passage of time captured through extended exposures that creates the atmosphere that sets his photographs apart.

Magee says, “In my photographs, there is no real sense of time or of a specific place. The location is totally secondary to the feeling. The feeling is everything.”

Published by Concentric Editions, with only 500 copies worldwide, this limited edition book is hand numbered and signed by the artist. With a foreword by Academy-Award winning director Terry George, and an interview with Dr Collete Nolan.

David was interviewed by London Live for his exhibition and was featured in Country Life Magazine, ArtDaily, PhotoBite and Photogrvphy

Since publication the book has won the following awards;

Gold Winner

PX3 - Prix de la Photographie 2018

Silver Winner

Moscow International Foto Awards 2018

Tokyo International Foto Awards 2017

Nominated

Athens Photo Festival 2018

Print, Design & Marketing Awards 2018

Lucie Photo Book Awards

British Book Design & Production Awards

From November 2017 until the start of 2018, HENI Gallery in London presented an exhibition of works by Simone Fattal to coincide with the publication of Simone Fattal: Watercolours by HENI Publishing.

The limited edition book presents over 100 watercolours works, from still lifes to abstracts. Made between 1972 and 2016, the book depicts a combination of painting, collage and sculptural works, all preceded by a discussion with the Artistic Director of London’s Serpentine Gallery, Han-Ulrich Obrist. This open discussion sees Fattal ruminating on her childhood in Damascus, her publishing company Post-Apollo Press, and other recurring themes that continue to inspire her long-standing affinity with the watercolour medium.

www.henipublishing.com

ArtReview reviewed the exhibition as in their February 2018 issue

This book is David Bailey’s portrayal of the landscapes and personalities of the mystical and densely forested Naga Hills, part of the complex mountain barrier between India and Myanmar (Burma), and home to the Naga tribes, “those with pierced ears” in Burmese. Bailey’s desire to visit the Naga Hills has been with him since youth, yet access had been continually restricted because of war and unrest – until 2012 when that wish finally became a reality.

Bailey had initially wanted to photograph the story of the last headhunters in the region, but in typical Bailey style, he needed to improvise when this didn’t quite go to plan: he recalls for example cutting though difficult terrain (at times needing to walk beside the four-wheel drive), becoming lost for hours, only to be discovered by armed men who directed him to a party at a guard post, where he proceeded to dance the night away with the soldiers…

This is the newest book exploring Bailey’s on-going fascination with India, the previous being his Delhi Dilemma of 2012, and by no means the last – for in Bailey’s words, “India seems endless”.

www.steidl.de

The book was featured in Arts Illustrated, State Magazine, and Vogue India among others.

As a fashion photographer, Amelia Allen works in an industry obsessed with body image, one that focuses on the most flattering way of dressing oneself. It was therefore an usual and refreshing step for her move into a world where the body is completely liberated, devoid of styling and stripped of fabric and fashion.

In Naked Britain, Amelia explores the reason behind the unique and controversial status of naturism in today’s society that often associates nudity with sex. To Amelia, that association if a harmful misconception; In the naturist world, people connect as equals, regardless of appreaance, wealth, occupation, or status, be literally stripping off and immersing herself in the 21st century naturism, Amelia discovered liberation, empowerment and the sense of fun that naturists embrace and enjoy.

For two years she inhabited both worlds producing this sociological documentary through the eye song her camera lens. Her developing interests in reportage photography comes from her enjoyment of travelling, meeting new people and observing them in their everyday life. Amelia’s ability to connect with people and tell and story through imagery facilitated this publication and exhibition.

“The sense of fun, freedom, and liberation that naturism offers its advocates is extraordinarily infectious and I like to think I have captured the raw beauty of that.”

www.kehrerverlag.com

Amelia was interviewed on BBC World News, BBC Radio London and The Telegraph, and her images were featured on many news sites including the Daily Mail, Metro, and GARAGE Magazine.

Artist Alexander de Cadenet presented for the first time in the UK Creations – an exhibition at St Stephen Walbrook, a Sir Christopher Wren church in the heart of the financial City of London from 3rd October to 3rd November 2017.

The show comprised of a series of life-sized, unique solid silver and gold plated hamburger sculptures that are a protest against our society’s ever increasing materialistic greed and hunger for power and status. Two of the burgers featured images of Donald Trump reflecting the current mood in politics.

The sculptures consist of various materialistic objects crammed in between a McDonald’s sesame seed burger bun – these watches, cars, planes, Barbie dolls, and money display varying degrees of grotesquery.

In keeping with the spiritual sanctity of the venue and in addition to the 10 new ‘Life Burger’ sculptures, there was a message of redemption in the form of a single much larger scale bronze apple with three bites taken form it. This work is designed to balance the more protesting themes explored by the burgers.

Arts & Collections Magazine featured the exhibition on their social media channels, while Artlyst wrote a long piece on their website.

www.alexanderdecadenet.com

One year after its debut, the UK’s biggest photography exhibition returned, putting the country’s citizens centre stage once more on digital screens up and down the land. Portrait of Britain, in partnership with JCDecaux and Nikon, gave photographers, amateur and professional alike, the chance to showcase their work across the country.

Visualised as an exhibition for the people, by the people, Portrait of Britain reached more than a third of the UK population in 2016. It returned in 2017 with another 100 photographs showing in busy public spaces nationwide. The public encountered the images as they went about their daily lives, displayed across JCDecaux’s digital channel of screens in places such as rail stations, shopping malls, high streets and Heathrow.

Following an open call by the British Journal of Photography, neatly 8000 portraits were entered, from which the final 100 were chosen.

The wining images from the exhibition can be seen at portraitofbritain.uk and many of them are available to buy as art prints from gallery.portraitofbritain.uk

The exhibition was featured in The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The i, and The Times, as well as Sky Breakfast, BBC In Pictures, Mail Online, and The Jewish Chronicle among others.

David Bailey’s King’s X brings together two books – King’s Cross and Street People King’s Cross – as one slipcase limited edition, dedicated to the area in which Bailey has lived for over 20 years.

Bailey presents a striking yet complementary contrast to the street photography of King’s Cross in Street People King’s Cross, turning his famed portraiture to the people that live on those very streets. Initially commissioned by The Big Issue in 1999, these portraits of homelessness showcase Bailey’s unsurpassed talent in capturing unexpected aspects of his subjects, challenging preconceptions with a quiet intimacy. King’s Cross meanwhile focuses on the fast-changing landscape of the area. Bailey’s relatively recent photographs – together with an insightful text by Francis Hodgson – are an testament to the ever-changing city and the stories held within. For every copy sold a £10 donation will be make to a homeless charity.

www.henipublishing.com

The book and accompanying exhibition were featured in many outlets including The Big Issue, Time Out and It’s Nice That.

For his fifth solo show, British artist Blondey McCoy unveiled Us and Chem., an exhibition that intimately drew a parallel between art and therapy. Us and Chem. is a study in self reflection and the psychological manifestations of chemical imbalance. McCoy describes the 12-new mirror works as: ‘A product of disaster. Anti-drugs and pro art… the fruits of a project fuelled by hyper productivity as a means of combatting depression, rather than burying it the easy way’.

On account of his favourite magazine shop waving farewell to Soho’s square mile, Blondey has been forced to move away from his signature cut and stick photo montages of pre existing material and has collected, curated, photographed and then printed onto mirrors a London abode-ful of articles representing the joys and pains of interior and exterior London life. All works were original and unseen, with some presented in sash and leaded window frames of up to 4.5 feet tall. 

The show featured the artists debut collaboration piece, with British artist Damien Hirst: a painted then printed on one-off five foot tall spin painting.

“In feeling blue, tragically, the natural thing to do is stay blue. The creating of these new works has proven to me, more than ever before, that expressionism and making artwork is a way of temporarily exorcising that feeling. The show was created out of a compulsion to create, not one to show off, throw a party or make money. It’s making has been a revelation in accepting the need to treat bipolar as a blessing rather than a curse, and to perpetually guarantee myself that from long hum drum periods of heightened sensitivity, my most genuine and life affirming artwork is born.’ 

www.blondeymccoy.com

For the exhibition Blondey was interviewed by BBC London and BBC Radio London, as well as i-D and FAD.

Tom Oldham first visited Lesotho in 2009, shooting for the NGO Riders for Health, on a whistle-stop shoot travelling through this mountain kingdom. On the winding, climbing roads he’d see herder boys tending to their animals and immediately imagined a series of images that he just couldn’t shake from his mind – their distinctive silhouettes against the sky, these icons of Lesotho wrapped in the woollen blankets that provide their only protection from an intense sun or a brutal winter.

The herder boys work astonishingly hard, for very low pay, in the toughest conditions imaginable. It is the only option available to some, who often have very little formal education and can enter into this employment from early childhood.

In November 2016, he was able to return to Lesotho to shoot these portraits and with some valuable assistance from the team at Riders for Health he came home with some very special new work.

The Herder Boys of Lesotho exhibition was supported by Hasselblad, and was printed and framed by Metro Imaging. This was Tom’s first solo West End exhibition and was held at the White Space Gallery, on Great Newport Street – just off Leicester Square in London.

Tom was interviewed on The Monocle Weekly radio show speaking about the exhibition and his work.

As human beings we have always been interested in electricity. Since it was first showcased by scientists in the 1800’s people have been fascinated by seeing the power of this elemental force. People flocked to Victorian ‘public spectacles’ and today we still use Michael Faraday’s many discoveries in our everyday lives.

The Faraday Cage, named after the man himself, has many uses, ranging from surrounding the microwave in your kitchen, to helping protect cars and planes from lightening strikes. Even the Brexit Secretary’s briefcase is a Faraday Cage, keeping sensitive information from prying ears and eyes.

Artist Garry Hunter used Faraday’s principles to contain and ‘sculpt’ sonic inputs, within an egg-shaped cage, creating electrical arcs from an coil upcycled from reclaimed elements including a particle accelerator and a plastic drainpipe.

Hunter has been interested in Faraday for some time and this 5-year project finally came to fruition. Working with engineers at FAB LAB RUC at Roskilde University, Denmark, he created this Faraday Cage sonic interface, which was demonstrated as part of Open House Weekend on the 16th and 17th September 2017 at Trinity Buoy Wharf, supported by TBW Trust.

In July 2017 artist Brian Clarke exhibited his Summer Solstice Screens at HENI Gallery in Soho.  The screens were provoked by the artist’s travels around the world and he created each screen to reveal a resonating characteristic of a different place, each is a uniquely contemporary expression of ‘genius loci’ taking the subject matter and medium to an entirely new experience.

Using the stained glass techniques Clarke has honed over the past 40 years, the artist revealed a world of energetic vivacity. Each composition traversed the twelve individual panels that formed every screen and revealed the kinetic nature of the medium. Movement, seen through the transparent membrane, movement of transilluminated colour and light reflected from the animate character of the material itself all contributed to a beguiling and vivid poetic experience.

www.brianclarke.co.uk

Brian was interviewed by BBC London ahead of the show and Fated & Fabled attended the private view to write about it.

After a successful exhibition in London, Scarlett Raven and Marc Marot took The Danger Tree interactive exhibition to Liverpool. The city had a deep connection with the work as the Liverpool PALS regiment were open of the first to be sent to fight in WWII, and consequently one of the last groups to be disbanded.

The works, when viewed through a mobile device, come to life, some showing the layers of paint being stripped away, others referencing poetry and spoken word associated with the fighting.

www.scarlettraven.com

The exhibition was featured on BBC North West and BBC Radio as well as the Liverpool Echo and Art in Liverpool

Gerhard Richter has been creating his Artist Books since 1966, and Heni Publishing celebrated the release of his last book, 40 Tage, with an exhibition which opened on the 23rd February 2017.

40 Tage features a series of 40 graphite-on-paper drawings, drawn between May and September 2015. Richter’s Artist Books are considered to be artworks in their own right and have become sought after items. The latest title was published as a limited edition of 800 numbered copies worldwide.

To coincide with the books release, the 40 Tage series of work was displayed as facsimiles of the original works, at the Heni exhibition space in Soho, London from the 23rd February to 9th April 2017. The works spanned two rooms, organised chronologically, followed by a third room dedicated to Richter’s engagement with artist books. All 30 of the previously released books were displayed, including: Polke/Richter. Richter/Polke (Hannover: Gallerie h, 1966), War Cut II (Cologne: Walter Koenig, 2004), and Atlas in Four Volumes (Cologne: Walter Koenig, 2015).

www.henipublishing.com

As part of the coverage Hans-Ulrich Obrist spoke with 52 Insights about the artist and his books.

First published in 1982, David Bailey’s NW1 captured a vanishing part of London.

Primrose Hill and Camden had been his home for nearly 30 years and it was slowly changing, so he decided to photograph the shuttered cinemas, boarded railway arches, crumbling Victorian facades, dormant car parks and advertising hoardings.

34 years ago it was a statement of the suburban decay, and looking back on the images now it becomes even more poignant.

Gone is the history to be replaced with glass and steel, family businesses replaced by chain fashion stores and coffee shops.

Extracts from the book, which has long been sold out, have now be re-printed for the first time in a special limited edition hand numbered and signed by the artist. The new edition also contains an unseen photograph from the series.

To coincide with the release of the book the images were exhibited at the HENI Gallery in Soho from 1st December 2016 to 31st January 2017. This was the first time the images have been exhibited.

www.henipublishing.com

The book and exhibition were widely covered by the media including London Evening Standard, The Telegraph, the Times Literary Supplement, and the British Journal of Photography.

In its debut year, Portrait of Britain was launched by The British Journal of Photography to critical acclaim. Showcasing the face of a modern country, the images, in partnership with JCDecaux, were displayed on digital screens across the country.

Attracted approximately 4000 entries, the final 100 images were a mixture of amateurs and professionals alike.

The exhibition was featured in many media outlets both in the UK and overseas. The Times, Independent, Mashable, Buzzfeed, BBC and MSN all featured the images, as well as TIME in the US and Rolling Stone in Italy.

“Blah PR worked together with British Journal of Photography for a newly launched and unique exhibition - Portrait of Britain. They were highly professional throughout, passionate about the project as if it were their own, and understood our aims from the very start which translated into an incredible amount exposure and success for the campaign. “ British Journal of Photography

“I was delighted by the quality and breadth of coverage that Mark achieved for Portrait of Britain -  from The Times and the Telegraph through to Mashable and BuzzFeed. Mark was proactive, creative and a pleasure to work with. The scale of the PR he achieved surpassed my expectations.”  Janet Guest, Editorial Director, JCDecaux

On 20th June 2016, the longest of the year, Tom Oldham photographed 24 people, 1 every hour for each hour of the day. All participants were at work and ranged from club performers, to midwives, to cycle couriers.

Taken on the Monday, the images were then put into a free newspaper which was given away at selected tube stations in London on the Friday. As people woke up to the shock Brexit result, the newspaper was a visual reminder of the variety of London’s vibrant East End.

www.tomoldham.com

The Evening Standard ran a nice piece the day before the release of the free newspaper, which was then picked up by Time Out and The Big Issue among others.

Designer Radim Malinic released his first Book of Ideas in 2016. The book was such a success that the initial print run quickly sold out and more had to be printed. Covered international by various media including New Design Magazine and It’s Nice That (UK), 72dpi (Germany), Graffica (Spain), Vile Arts (Sweden), and Xueui (China), the book went onto become an Amazon No.1 Best Seller.

www.bookofindeas.co.uk

As the PR Manager for TASCHEN I looked after most of the EMEA and APAC territories. My role was to place features stories in media not only for the books, but also back stories about the company itself. Below are a few examples

Archcritik - India, Bespoke Magazine - Lebanon, D2 - Norway, Esquire - Poland, Esquire - UK, Esquire Big Black Book - UK, Gulf Today - United Arab Emirates, Hospodarske Noving - Czech Republic, L’Azure - Russia, Metro - UK, Rolls Royce Magazine - UK, South China Morning Post - Hong Kong, Svenska Dagsbladet - Sweden, The Independent on Sunday - UK, The Telegraph Magazine - UK, The Times Literary Supplement - UK, Vogue - China, Vogue - UK, Vogue Living - Australia, The World of Interiors - UK

I worked with ECAD Gallery advising them on raising their profile in the Peckham, and wider photography markets.