New long-form essays on contemporary photography by Offline Journal & guest writers.
Essay #1
The Daniel Meadows Archive in nine people
Written by Daniel Meadows
With his important photography archive now held in the prestigious Bodleian Library in Oxford and his ‘Now and Then’ retrospective exhibition and book of the same name launched in October 2019, acclaimed documentarian Daniel Meadows has written the first Offline Essay on the theme of the photographic archive - using himself as a unique case study.
It’s an insightful and, in places, moving piece that all photographers
who consider their work of some value - culturally and/or monetary -
in the long-term should read more than once!
A4 / 4 pages / mono
Essay #2
Gap in the Hedge (after Dan Wood)
Written by Siôn Tomos Owen
A unique poem written by Valleys artist Siôn Tomos Owen over four pages that narrates Dan Wood’s '‘Gap in the Hedge’ images as shown on his website.
Specially written to accompany a limited edition exhibition poster produced for Dan Wood’s ‘Gap in the Hedge’ exhibition shown at the 2019 Northern EYE Photography Festival in Colwyn Bay, North Wales.
A4 / 4 pages / mono
Essay #3
Sites of struggle and photography
Written by Paul Cabuts
In 'Sites of struggle and photography', Paul Cabuts discusses
the use of photographs to highlight hardship and distress;
and also explore their ongoing relationship to
the story of photography and Wales.
This new essay includes discussions on Jim Mortram’s 'Small Town Inertia' and Dan Wood’s 'Pove the Great'. It considers earlier work by others, and addresses questions around photography that include: a) can photographs pictorially depict distress or is additional evidence essential?; b) who are such photographic works for?; and c) how can photographs of distress change anything?
A4 / 4 pages / mono
Essay #4
ffotoview - an overview
Written by Robert Greetham
Written for Offline Journal by Robert Greetham - an early Director of Ffotogallery in the 1980's. This fascinating essay tells the story of Wales' first printed Journal on photography by its Editor.
Published over twelve issues between 1982-1985, ffotoview originated from a simple 4-page Newsletter and developed into a quarterly magazine offering updates on not just Ffotogallery's activities but the wider photography scene and culture at a time when photography galleries were emerging across the UK.
A4 / 4 pages / mono