Plymouth Art Weekender started yesterday. A city-wide celebration of all things arty. Yesterday theoldmortuary team took in black and white photography by JoJo at Ocean Studios. 
JoJo captures the human condition seemingly effortlessly. His exhibitions are thematic and this one features couples who have chosen to spend their lives together and single mothers with their offspring. I’m not sure why only single mothers were selected or indeed why these two separate subjects don’t quite work for me as a theme. Regardless, the photography has all the hallmarks of JoJo. From experience, I know that JoJo puts his sitters at ease and gently extracts the stories behind the people. I’m a huge fan of his latest book, Naked Truth, partly because the photography is skilled but more because he tells the tale of body image so deftly. Returning however to this current exhibition, I was struck by his ability to show both passivity and defiance in the faces of his single mothers and contentment in those of his couples. The more I view these photographs the more I learn about the sitters without ever meeting them, he is a very clever photographer. A longer review will be published later.
Category: Photographs
A weekend with Milly
A weekend of giving Aunt Milly some love and attention is enhanced by sunshine. I have a pile of books to keep me occupied and a view to distract me.
I popped into the Royal William Yard to buy some bakery provisions at The Ocean Studios. A home made Pork Pie somehow slipped into my shopping bag. Cue a bit of bakery porn, posing in the old clome oven, giving me the chance to use the term ‘Crumbshot’ which I have stolen from memoirsofabaker.
My reading for this weekend if the sunshine and the views don’t distract me is:-
How To Write About Contemporary Art by Gilda Williams.
Recommended by my art writers group. So far I’ve only dipped but it seems like an easier read than I had imagined.
Long Live Great Bardfield: The Autobiography of Tirzah Garwood.
Edited by Anne Ullman. My entire gene pool comes from the Bardfield area and I know very little about the village. Coupled with the narrative of a female artist, this will suit me very well.
Cant Stand Up For Sitting Down by Jo Brand.
A friend gave me this after I took a shockingly bad selection of books on my holiday. She thought this would chear me up literarywise. She was right. Living near Jo in South London, being grey haired and inclined towards curviness, I am often asked if I am her sister by shopkeepers. I think she would make a fabulous sister but the answer really is NO but if you insist I will sign your till receipt.
The Saturday Guardian,.
Regardless of the general opinion of our newspapers the arts stuff is well written and I enjoy reading it over the weekend.
Living Etc:
A style magazine that offers interior design that can be modified for normal living.
Cornwall Today: July. The Poldark Edition.
Colin and Diana had a copy of this ,when we met them at The Sorting Office Coffee Shop at St Agnes, yesterday. I’m more of a Winston Graham Poldark fan than a BBC fan . I read all the books in my early teens, I’m intrigued to see how Poldark is reimagined within real Cornwall.
Evening Standard Magazine: 07.07.17 London United Edition.
My love affair with London never fades, I voraciously read other people’s stories about their feelings for our capital city.
Eid Mubarak
A sunflower by candlelight is rather an unusual image. I’m not entirely sure why I noticed it but it is a great picture to share with good wishes to my friends , I hope you had a great day.
Eid mubarak
Naked Bunting
17 years ago I posed for Jo jo’s first book Plymouth Unveiled. In many ways it was a life changing experience. Body confidence is a funny old thing and it’s odd that a virtual stranger with a camera and a disarming manner gifted me mine.
His new book, Naked Truth, was launched tonight. A cornucopia of real women, curves, crevasses, confidence and contradictions, it is simply brilliant.
I love being an artist with a science background.
I’ve had a great evening. The brilliant setting sun perfectly illuminated two amazing mummified seagulls that , my artistically switched- on friend, Jason found for me. It’s just great having a science background as an abstract artist. It’s stops me being squeamish and I recognise the anatomy. Best shot of the night , sunset coming through the tympanic cavity and bony labyrinth. All shot on my iPhone using natural light.
All a bit Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Saltash Regatta
Potential Energy
Saltash Regatta weekend.
A bustling brightly coloured celebration of river and community based pleasure. I always like to get to the waterfront at dusk on the Friday or dawn on the Saturday to catch the hardware of the event in preparation. The symmetry and stillness of the gigs and pilot boats belies the ferociousness of the events later in the day
These weighty oars have the delicacy of ballerinas feet as they rest peaceably together on the green. In a few hours they will be battling for prime position, one on one contact is not unheard of.
I love the laced-on leather handgrips, resting here, they have an erotic quality, suggesting laces on corsets passively waiting to be undone. In reality, the leather provides grip but the combination of endeavour, leather and salty water is punishing to the flesh. Soft palms and finger tips can be shredded to bloody remnants of their former selves.
Gigs, resting neatly in the water, delivered overnight from all over the West Country await their teams to give them energy and purpose.
Their skeletal insides waiting for race-ready muscles to give them power.
Blades, polished to cleave the water whilst the rowers cleave together, rhythm and energy effectively brought together.
Flashboats announcing every rowers hoped-for outcome. Just a few hours peace before the rowing begins.
A little late
theoldmortuary website and blog is a little over a month old. This was the first person to want to follow us but he has only just got here. Follow us to see all the cool stuff that thrills a snail and a few other people who love the stuff we love.
Hong Kong Style
Source: Hong Kong Style
Dungeness
Dungeness, I’ve loved this place for ever through the work of Derek Jarman. When I relocated to London it became my favourite place to visit when I needed a fix of sea air. The boardwalks are a gift to photographers and I can never resist them. This one makes it onto the website because the vapour trail mimics the direction of the distant boardwalk.
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