TATE MODERN

In London to see the Robert Rauschenberg exhibition I took these photographs from the following exhibitions -
Living Cities by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Red by Boris Mikhailov. I was drawn to these photographers' female portraits. There is something visceral and 'real' about the way in which each image documents a moment in time, a considered snapshot of life. From the daily routines of women in Byker to Mikhailov's beautiful Russian subjects accentuated and accessorised by splashes of red. Both artists make the ordinary extraordinary.

LIVING CITIES

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

'Introducing the two room living cities display is a series of photographs by the Finnish born artist Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen which records an inner city community in the years before their neighbourhood was demolished.

Byker was an estate of nineteenth century terraced houses, located in Newcastle upon Tyne. She lived there in 1969 when the area was already destined for demolition to make way for a new purpose built estate. Despite this Konttinen was drawn to the humour, vibrancy and resilience of the residents and decided to make it her home, living in the area until her own house was demolished. The Byker series contains a variety of photographs taken over twelve years, from images captured spontaneously on the street, to intimate views into the home of the people of Byker.

Konttinen set up a portrait studio in a disused hairdressing salon, offering free portraits to local residents Her continued engagement with the local community helped her to gain their trust.

‘Being a foreigner gave me one advantage: I could be nosey, and be forgiven’. ‘ Many doors were opened for me that would have remained closed to another photographer and invitations extended to the kind of hospitality and intimacy that would normally be reserved for family only’.

In 1969 Konttinen helped to found the Amber Film and Photography Collective. 

Based in Newcastle, their objective is to establish a creative relationship with local communities and to document working class life in the region. Konttinen is still active in the group today'.

http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/display/living-cities/sirkka-liisa-konttinen

RED

Boris Mikhailov

'Red is the symbol of the soviet. Having united the picture by the colour red, I mad a series about ‘the soviet’ yes red in Russian is beauty and blood and the red flag everyone associate red with communism maybe that’s enough but few know that red went through all our life on all its levels'.