June 30, 2011

Today was our class field trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Figures and Fictions photography exhibit. I was blown away by the images – not what I expected from South African photogs.

In fact, I wasn’t sure what to expect for South African photogs. All of the images were powerful, and many were hyper-formal, juxtaposing Western ideas of portraiture with the pastiche of reality that now seems to represent a post-Apartheid South Africa. I particularly liked: Graeme Williams’ The Edge of Town series; Pieter Hugo’s portraits, like the Hyena Men; and Jodi Bieber’s Real Beauty series.

After some time at the V&A, we went to Hyde Park the second part of the assignment. I let the students work, and Giles and I walked and took photos, making our way to Westminster. We photographed a bit of the V&A, Hyde Park, Buckingham, Parliament, and areas in between.

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  Hyde Park

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  Flower

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  Horsemen

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  Outside Buckingham Palace