The Image of London, as a Hostile City, is Outwardly and Constantly Changing
Photo London has had a change in the background. After 10 years at Somerset House, the UK’s leading art gallery has moved five miles west to the Olympia, a renovated 19th-century gallery in Kensington. From now until May 17, visitors can see images brought by galleries from around the world in a new iteration of the fair that places more emphasis on commerce without sacrificing offerings for non-buyers who just want to look around.
London is, of course, a global city, so it’s no surprise that the UK capital’s biggest photography exhibition is a snapshot of the world. “I always say we can represent London and how diverse and multicultural it is,” Sophie Parker, director of Photo London, told the Observer. The first presentation that visitors see is Ahmed Ali’s 96 silver gelatins—supplied by PHOTOINK, New Delhi, showing for the first time at the exhibition—depicting workers on their way to factories. A selection of Latin American and Central and Eastern European galleries are located between the main gallery area and the Discovery Section. Zofia Rydet’s Polish interiors are on display, as are the works of David Díaz Gonzales, a traditional artist from the Shipibo-Konibo ethnic group based in Peru.
The Portfolio section showcases the works of artists who do not have a gallery, and the work of two Iranian photographers, in particular, is worth seeking out. A series by Tahmineh Monzavi Iran Gen Z focuses on young women across Iran, while Shayan Sajadian uses photography to capture the country’s urban and marginalized communities. Equally compelling, Wara Vargas Lara’s work focuses on behavior and identity change in his native Bolivia, while Hicham Gardaf examines migration and urbanization in Tangier.
But there is still plenty of Britishness to be found. In the main section there is an original print from David Bailey, a photographer from Swinging Sixties London. In the Master of Photography exhibition are Steven Meisel’s blown-up photographs taken in London in 1993: Bella Freud, Stella Tennant and Twiggy, all captured in brilliant monochrome. Part of his fame The Anglo-Saxon Attitude series, here the streets of Notting Hill and Spitalfields serve as a subtle but instantly recognizable backdrop to anyone familiar with the geography of London. Contemporary London, on the other hand, can be seen in Misan Harriman’s black and white photographs (brought to you by Hope93 Gallery) of protests that have taken place over the past few years. Capturing posters and activists campaigning for Gaza, BLM and LGBTQ+ rights, Harriman’s is the most prominent political work in the exhibition.
As well as expanding geographically, Photo London aims to expand the conceptual definition of what photography is. There are a few AI photos here and there, though nowhere near as many as at Paris Photo and its dedicated digital section. Notably, Photo London challenges any fixed or definitive definition of what a photograph is, and several galleries present works that combine photography with other media. “I feel like our role at Photo London is to show that the spectrum of photography is broad,” Parker said. “We want people to see that photography is not a two-dimensional picture on the wall.
This powerful interpretation is evident in “The One We’ve Been Waiting For,” a collection of work by female and non-binary artists curated by Autograph Gallery’s Bindi Vora, who says her curation involves presenting “a very different idea of what the gallery is and what it can look like.” A metal portrait by Sacha Huber, a hand-painted portrait by Ingrid Pollard and an AI-generated family portrait by Sabrina Tirvengadum are all on offer. “What I really wanted to do with this collection exhibition was to show the breadth, the broad nature of what photography can be.”
In the fair’s first decade, wandering around Photo London was like stumbling through a neoclassical labyrinth—it always felt like there was another room missing. In Olympia, entertainment is very easy to navigate; the structure is similar to that of Paris Photo, although admittedly, the development of the Olympia cannot compete with the beauty of the Grand Palais. The updated structure helps position Photo London as more of a festival and a traditional art fair, Parker explains. “We have to make sure we’re presenting the best possible environment for our advertisers to be commercially successful.”
That said, there’s a lot to take in, whether or not you’re visiting Photo London with a checkbook in hand. The new motion picture section explores films across the field, running through May 17. Highlights include Krissy Shook’s new documentary, Your Eyes and Love in Letters and Shadowsabout the life of her mother, Melissa Shook, and Sarah Moon’s film, There’s Something About Lillianabout Lillian Bassman. The new Olympia location allows good editors to expand the Publishers section, where those not in the market to spend a few thousand pounds on printing can spend big bucks on picture books.
Lectures, tours and screenings are all intended to engage the non-buying public, and as Parker likes to point out, the exhibition offers opportunities for “people who are interested in photography to get an idea of what global photography looks like right now.” Walking through Picture in London—the new location makes circling back much easier—one encounters old favorites (Bailey, Meyerowitz, Evelyn Atwood), new works by well-known names (Burtynsky), and hundreds of works by unfamiliar names from around the world. Even more so than in previous years, Photo London should be an essential stop on any photo lover’s calendar.
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