Skip to content

John Levett & Anne-Marie Glasheen: Family Photos

    Viewfinder Photography Gallery presents unusual reworkings of family photographs by John Levett and Anne-Marie Glasheen. Both use their family photographs as a resource in creating new series, and as a tool for understanding and reinterpreting their own family histories. Anne-Marie creates new images by layering old and new photographs while John re-photographs existing photographs, finding new meanings in them through photographing them in different locations and on different surfaces.

    Anne-Marie’s series features three generations of her maternal family. Her great-grandfather was a master baker in Lee High Road. Her grandfather was a butcher, also in Lee High Road, before enlisting. She presents reproductions of original family prints combined with digital ones, and pinhole shots of ‘Pettifer’ addresses; poems and texts inspired by stories told and information gleaned.

    John Levett is also intrigued by the mysteries of family photographs. For John, the truly interesting feature of the family album is what the family hides— “the abuse, the ignoring, the lies, the violence, the gathering disappointments, the slow death of ambition.” In 1987 John moved out of the house in which his mother had died eight years before. Amongst the clutter that went to the tip was (most of) the family photo collection. He retained a handful of snaps, some taken by his father, some by himself, some by ‘an other’. John’s mother never talked to him of who his father was, or of her life before they met. Reworking the images complemented his revaluation of life with his mother—giving certain moments a fresh immediacy. He describes this process as “failing again, failing better.”

    Accompanying workshop, Sunday 25 April, 2-5pm
    John Levett is running an accompanying workshop at the Viewfinder, at which Anne-Marie Glasheen will also present her work. Those taking part in the workshop will be invited to bring along their family album—all of it or part of it. They’ll be asked to consider what the album represents to the family, what hasn’t been included, who hasn’t been included, what events are absent, what photographs could have been taken but weren’t. Participants will be looking at re-shooting the image—under light, under glass, in shade and shadow; in a formal context and casually. Participants will consider how we might question the stories that the family snap tries to tell; what we might learn from pairing image and image. This workshop is funded by the Capital Community Foundation and Grassroots Grants. Places are free but booking is essential – email louise@viewfinder.org.uk to reserve a place.

    Exhibition runs April 8-25, 2010
    Private view April 8th, 7-9pm

    Viewfinder Photography Gallery
    Linear House, Peyton Place
    Greenwich, London SE10 8RS