Brittain Bright, Lottie Davies, me & Johanna Ward
at L A Noble Gallery
Taken from a letter written by Johanna Ward's father to her mother in the 1970's the series I shall say goodbye with my strengthening love for you, forever and ever depicts the passing of time in her families life - which like any great love story cottons all the classic ingredients of, romance, mystery,attraction, consequences, demise & reflection.
©Johanna Ward
Untitled
Courtesy of L A Noble Gallery
Told through one persons eyes (& more than one lens) from the perspective of her mother & sister the series focuses on the meeting, courtship, marriage, childhood, divorce & separation. By environmentally mirroring the tale with landscape images, Ward reflects the growth, erosion, renewal & familial bonds which strengthen as time passes.
©Johanna Ward
Untitled
Courtesy of L A Noble Gallery
I shall say goodbye… is a fractured cyclical narrative that works like memories do without formal punctuation - there are no full stops, only commas & a stream of consciousness displayed through a lyrical curation of images which rise & fall in differing tempos, played at varying volumes & sizes. Clarity is not the aim here, but suggestions for the viewer. Her awareness of the many facets of the story deliver the space for an audience to imagine beyond the literal.
©Johanna Ward
Click here to see a full video of the
Limited Edition of 7 - boxed set
When I first saw this work in book form I was astounded at the dexterity of her visual parlance. In placing emphasis & intimacy - using scale & mixing her photographs of the landscape & still life shots of pertinent objects with vernacular snapshots of Ward's family - there is an familiarity that provides a universal narrative within which we can all connect to.
These touching photographs exude warmth, love, friendship & familial life alongside visceral landscapes of forests, a frozen waterfall & a baron snow covered hilltop combined with nights capes, fire, skinned deer carcasses create a cacophony of dreamlike emotion. this is the stuff of myth & fairytales as seen through the eyes of a child now grown & aware of the ironies & cruelties of reality. As with all fairytales there must be darkness as well as light, literally & metaphorically.
The multiplicity of interpretation of each picture & the series as a whole enrich the work - just as in life - elevate it beyond the sum of its parts long beyond the lives of the protagonists it refers to…
©Johanna Ward
Click here to see a full video of the
Limited Edition of 7 - boxed set
In this, the last week of Capturing The Narrative: A visual exploration of fact & fiction on Wed 2 July 18.30 - 20.00 Johanna Ward will be doing an artist talk followed by 3 spoken word pieces by Nick Burbridge, Charlotte Barrow & Winnie M Li. To attend please see the website for details. Places are limited & doors close at 18.15. The evening is being recorded, so no further admittance will be allowed once the talk & performances are underway. Johanna Ward night: £5 per person.
Transport: Dalston Kingsland Overground
To see last week's performance by actor Samuel J Weir directed by Lottie Davies please see here.
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