June 17 – July 29, 2011
Open Wed – Fri, 11.30 until 4.30
The Magnum Print Room
63 Gee Street London
London EC1V 3RS
United Kingdom
Free Admission
In a few weeks time The Magnum Print Room will be showcasing a selection of key photographic work from the American Magnum photographer Alex Webb, in partnership with his forthcoming book The Suffering of Light (Thames & Hudson, 2011). The book, is beautifully printed showing some of his most iconic colour photographs, which are taken in many different locations around the world, featuring alongside previously unpublished images. The book provides the most detailed look into Webb’s thirty year career. He has been recognized as a pioneer of American colour photography since the 1970s, Webb has consistently created photographs that are outlined by colour, shape and light. His work seems to touch on multiple themes of photography including street photography, photojournalism, and fine art, but as Webb claims, “To me it all is photography. You have to go out and explore the world with a camera.”
The exhibition displays twelve of Webb’s best known images, which have spanned across four decades, these beautiful c-type prints are taken from destinations such as Cuba, Greece, Turkey and Haiti. It was in Haiti that the vivid colour of the Caribbean that replaced the dull grey light of his early ‘New England’ work. From his Haitian experience he says; “I realized there was another emotional note that had to be reckoned with: the intense, vibrant colour of these worlds. Searing light and intense colour seemed somehow embedded in the cultures”. It is not just the intense colour of Webb’s work that is so recognizable, but the way he composes his images, making them packed with information. Here below are only a small selection of his images, that will be displayed at the exhibition.
