‘Bill Brandt in Bournville'

A collaboration between International Project Space and Birmingham Central Library

Including Serena Bailey, Bill Brandt, James Burgoyne, Vanley Burke, James O. Davies, Richard Harris, Nick Hedges, Brian Homer, Tom Merilion, Roy Peters, Tom Ranahan, John Reardon, JC Richards, Helen Sweeting, and Stuart Whipps.

4 to 26 May 2006

Exhibition Launch Wednesday 3 May 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm

Open Monday to Saturday 12.00 pm to 5.00 pm

(Wednesday 12.00 pm to 7.00 pm ) Closed Sunday

Bill Brandt's photographs for the Bournville Village Trust are a truly mysterious set of images. Taken between 1939 and 1943, they only came to light in the Village Trust's own records, rather than in the Brandt archive, or any other well-known collection or source for his material, in the 1970s. For this reason these pictures may well have remained hidden because of their difference to Brandt's more established work. Despite this fact, these photographs can clearly be seen to explore ideas for which Brandt originally became known, such as a concern for the atmosphere of rooms, or an interest in the darkness of the city.

Brandt may have originally been excited by this commission because of his interest in the Garden City Movement, something that was closely connected to the Bournville Village Trust. One thing that is certain is that, through his fascination for English social life, he would have relished being given access to a variety of houses, including light modern homes, and dark houses in the centre of the city. Twenty-six enlargements of these works have been chosen for this exhibition, together with the original album, which contains the seventy-seven images from the entire series. This material will be shown alongside work produced by a number of other photographers directly connected to Birmingham and the surrounding area. Works have been selected for their ability to engage with the subject of housing in the city, together with the nature of its redevelopment, which more than ever, has a heightened sense of relevance. These pictures range from recently produced work by Stuart Whipps and Tom Ranahan – who in very different ways have chosen to present contemporary views of the city – to archive material of Birmingham from the late nineteenth century.

If there is one thread running through the works in this exhibition, which also includes photographs by Roy Peters, Richard Harris, Serena Bailey, Nick Hedges, Tom Merilion, Vanley Burke, Helen Sweeting, and James O. Davies, it's a concern for the idea of ‘documentary fictions' outlined in Brandt's original project. With the recent acceleration of urban rejuvenation within the UK as a whole, it is an interesting time to look at certain forms of documentation, which can sometimes reveal a momentary insight into the social and political reality behind such tendencies. By mixing non-art photographs and archive material, or images from the distant and not-so distance past with contemporary works, this exhibition intends to celebrate a diverse form of photographic work. In essence, by looking at a number of perspectives, including the utopian history of Bournville, and the changing face of Birmingham as a whole, it aims to examine the fictional and ideological make-up and identity of a particular place through various moments in time.