Natasha Quarmby, a superb photographer of social disruption, will be profiled in the upcoming film programme of the National Arts Festival. Quarmby has made it her life’s purpose to film protest in the UK.
Film curator Trevor Steele Taylor features her exhibition Dissension, Decency & Disobedience.
‘Fields of Light’
“I first encountered the work of this British photographer when her work appeared on Facebook under the heading of Fields of Light. It didn’t take long for me to realise that she was an exceptional talent. Whether she was photographing the beaches of Devon, or ducks in a park, or her grandson, the work leapt out at one like the paintings of William Blake fused with the consciousness of Jack London.”
“It is in this area of documenting social unrest – disruption and protest that her work really takes off. She tirelessly travels England (including to Calais) to preserve beyond memory the events of these troubled times. Whether with Sisters Uncut occupying Holloway Prison to turn it into a Woman’s Centre or the Victims of the Grenfell Disaster, or the Refugees in Calais, the images she emerges with speak volumes.”
“I am proud to have her small exhibition of work as a digital presentation at this year’s National Arts Festival in the fitting company of films by Ken Loach, Marcel Ophuls, Chris Marker and John Pilger.”
Politics of direct action
The HIP Gallery in Hull describes the same exhibition, Dissension, Decency & Disobedience. An exhibition by Photography capturing that most British of political activities: PROTEST!: “This photography exhibition by Fields of Light Photography (Natasha Quarmby) captures the protest movement from the inside.”
“The British radical movement is as diverse as British society – disobedient and destructive elements share the same political and physical space, and together they face up to the jovial Bobby and the tooled-up riot cop. The committed political viewpoint of Fields of Light Photography allows us to experience the passion and the humour, the dialogue and the battleground that makes up the politics of direct action.”
Who: Natasha Quarmby
What: Fields of Light Photography
Where: National Arts Festival 2017
Atherstone Room Screenings:
30 June – 2 July 10am – 6pm
3 – 7 July, 2017 2pm – 6pm
Festival: 29 June – 9 July
Web: https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NQdocumentaryphotography/
WS
