There's just a few days left to see Paul Russell's exhibition of somewhat Martin Parr-esque photography at Gallery 435 in Slough. The series "Beside the Sea" records the English at rest and play at south coast resorts, in photos taken over the past 3 years at traditional seaside towns including Lyme Regis, West Bay, Weymouth, Bournemouth and Brighton.
Paul says "I have always been fascinated by seaside towns, and I hope that this series will bring some of the joys of the seaside – along with a few dark undercurrents – to landlocked Slough. The series, as always, is ongoing. The photos are mostly shot in the peak holiday season, hence they represent a tourist's eye view of the seaside, although I was surprised to find some resorts quite sparsely populated even at the height of the season." The English seaside has proved a fruitful hunting ground for photographers – some of Tony Ray-Jones' best known pictures were shot on the shore and Martin Parr's career gained momentum after a controversial study of the Merseyside seaside town of New Brighton. Ray-Jones famously said that "I have tried to show the sadness and humour in a gentle madness that prevails in people", and this gentle – and some not so gentle – madness seems particularly apparent at the beach, where a sub-zero midnight swim seems like a good idea after some refreshment, and a romantic walk to the end of the pier will inevitably lead to a kiss.
The series of photos in this exhibition are in the street photography style, that is to say the art of recording everyday scenes, usually featuring people in candid moments. It can be considered similar to documentary photography but street photography tends to focus on more everyday themes and be more "authored" – in other words the photos can demonstrate the photographer's particular view of the world. Notable street photographers have included Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand and, more recently, Martin Parr.
Paul says "I'm influenced by all those usual suspects plus some interesting new street photographers showcasing their work on the Internet. The seaside collection in this exhibition is one of several themed series that I'm working on; overall, I'm interested in depicting how human behaviour is affected by our environment. I think of my photography as a study of human natural history and ecology. We enjoy traditional nature documentaries, and birdwatchers will often spend hours waiting for a small nondescript brown bird to leave its nest, for example, but we rarely stop to examine and consider our own everyday behaviour in such detail."
The exhibition ends on Sunday 15th October.
Paul's photos have featured in the Guardian Weekend magazine and the Royal Photographic Society's 148th International Print Exhibition, on bbc.co.uk, and in AP magazine and File magazine.
www.gallery435.com
www.paulrussell.info
