An exhibition of photographs that captures family life in isolation has launched online to document these strange and challenging times.
Curated by Oxford photographer Philippa James, the ISOLATION exhibition is made up of photographs taken by mums taking part in her The Motherhood Photography Workshop.
“This exhibition captures this emotional journey so well; the boredom, the love, the frustration, the heartbreak, the joy and the challenge. It’s fascinating seeing a slice of the life of other people at home.”
The resulting photographs depict life at home in Oxfordshire, and document the wide range of feelings we have all experienced since lockdown started on March 23 when social distancing measures began to take hold and impact our daily lives.
Thrilled with the outcome of the project, Philippa said: “It’s a very moving body of work, one that a lot of families recognise themselves in.
“This exhibition captures this emotional journey so well; the boredom, the love, the frustration, the heartbreak, the joy and the challenge. It’s fascinating seeing a slice of the life of other people at home.”
Philippa, who earlier this year launched her exhibition 100 Oxford Women, explained: “We were originally going to do our first exhibition in a local cafe as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks, but when we all went into lockdown, I decided to run it as an online exhibition instead called ISOLATION.”
Read our piece about Philippa’s last exhibition 100 Women of Oxford here: http://551.326.mywebsitetransfer.com/100-women-of-oxford-the-incredible-story-of-photographer-philippa-james-epic-exhibition-to-capture-our-women-and-communities-at-tap-social/
The women who have contributed to this exhibition have documented their everyday during this ‘new normal’. Capturing moments of joy, frustration, and life as it has now become, home schooling, boredom, laughter, tears, tantrums, socially distant playing, Thursday evening clapping, care in the community and a new love of rainbows.
Philippa said: “I am incredibly proud to showcase this selection of their work, produced during COVID-19, capturing images of everyday life during lockdown.”
Philippa added: “There are many elements to create an emotional photograph – story, light, and composition, as well as camera settings and exposing the photograph correctly.
“Life is strange for everyone at the moment, and this project has pushed these mothers into documenting these strange times under challenging circumstances.”
“From idea conception, to image choices and helping, if needed, with editing, it has been an honour to support these talented photographers with their work. This exhibition is a real celebration of The Motherhood Photography Workshops and the amazing community that has come from it.”
“Photography is so much more than taking a pretty picture, it provides a window of sanity; creativity is so important, now more than ever,” Philippa concludes.
Photography credits; Lucy Marshall, Trudy Fell, Nichola Nash, Ellie Sharp, Carrie Rogers, Tracey Philbey, Emidy Ritchie-Manders, Tanya Smith, Stacey Prigent, Josie Cope, Louise Warnock, Anna Ellis, Heather Calver, Rachel Winchester, Hannah Abbey, Katie Hannaford and Lauren Burberry.
The Motherhood Photography Workshop is a cosy place to learn about photography. Designed especially for mothers, its goal is to teach mums how to capture their everyday life, whatever that may look like. The full day workshop ensures no one leaves without knowing how to confidently use their DLSR cameras on manual mode, how to look for light, see composition, and capture story telling moments, but is currently on hold.
To see the exhibition in full go to https://philippajamesphotography.com/the-motherhood-exhibition/
SARAH EDWARDS
