Image © Austin Guest

In this edition of our monthly meeting we were joined by 18 people and we welcomed a new attendee, Miguel Fernandez.

We began with personal projects with Rashida Mangera showing a highly personal video project representing an exhibition work she did regarding grief after suffering the loss of many family members. Rashida used symbolism in the form of photographs of light, timepieces and flowers, interspersed with quotes and written word. Moving and pertinent in this current time.

Then Nusse opening with beautiful landscapes from Malta and a stunning collection of clouds including locations in London and Egypt. Dorota Boisot showed work from her recent trip to Poland. Opening with a photo of a ferry terminal from the northern coastal town Świnoujście showing ferries which travel to Sweden. Complex compositions with layers of information continued with Dorota’s second photo with people relaxing in seating baskets on the beach and further photos showing the beach environment and the border crossing with Germany. Next was Sukhy Hullait, showing work from his personal project of medium format film portraits of people around Peckham and East Dulwich. Miguel Fernandez came next showing personal work of street photography. Beginning with black and white work, the first was a striking composition showing a shard of light illuminating a person in a high contrast scene. A brilliant second candid photo of a religious scene in Spain. Strong compositions followed showing photos such as people in Notting Hill and by holiday makers the beach.

Moving on to the theme of Town and Country, Janet Nabney showed work using photos from her trips to China and Hong Kong. Printing 4 copies of the same photo and then mounting them to create a wonderfully immersive pop up book. Alec Wyllie, began with a layered photos of town and country in places such as Edinburgh and Naples showing its brightly coloured buildings. He also showed a nicely framed building in Stratford, London with man made structures reflecting cloud formations. Eve Milner presented work about her collaboration with another artist both creating work on a particular theme. They create diptychs between them and Eve showed a pairing of Waterloo Station together with a photo of structure for holding boats. The second was the London Eye paired with a shed both tied together by shape and a monochrome theme. Other work includes seagulls paired Hari Krishna devotes. Striking work by Eve and her counterpart.

Jan Cylwik showed photographs of taking his grandson to parks and the local open spaces. His use of colour was striking and showing his grandson exploring the environment evoked memories of childhood. Austin Guest, presented work around the area of Milton Keynes in response to a negative newspaper article about the area which failed to show its green open spaces. The first showed the light pyramid and other photos depicted the green spaces, a historical Roman site and the Grand Union Canal. Hady Bayoumi presented work on the rivers of Hertford. The first photograph was a painterly shot showing the flowing of a river reminiscent of a Constable. The remaining photos showed the rivers and their beautiful surroundings. Last to present was Frankie McAllister who continued the Town and Country theme with photos of her walks. The first photo was pastel buildings evoking the cinematic work of Wes Anderson. This was shown in contrast with photos of the countryside around Edale in the Peak District. Frankie also presented photos of characters in Soho and street scenes of Piccadilly in contrast with the countryside.

An enjoyable evening spanning a broad range of work.

– Sukhy Hullait

Janet Nabney

Frankie McAllister

Austin Guest

Dorota Boisot