©Luke Stephenson 99x99s

Three exhibitions at PhotoHastings Festival

It’s October which means the PhotoHastings photography festival is upon us. It started with a great energy, three very different exhibitions showing the range of photography and photographers there are in this town. HOT’s Lauris Morgan-Griffiths, a member of PhotoHastings, went along to look.

Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones was first out of the blocks with his photographs of the sea defences at Dymchurch – Defence of the Realm: fantastic images, beautifully printed by Solaris. Working at different times of day and night, lugging an old film camera on his back, from long exposures Jeremy has created seductive images of the sea which is, hopefully, in these times of global warming, being held back by the brutalist sea defences.

©Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones In defence of the realm

Often, with long exposures I find the results can appear lifeless; these, inevitably, are silent yet there is a warmth to the stillness, with the moon featuring as it moves slowly across the sky. The climate change element is strongly felt with the rising sea levels, which is already effecting the coast line with erosion, cliff falls and houses tipping into the sea. It was optimistically stated that the Dymchurch, solid defences, completed in 2011 will hold for 100 years against the relentless power of the sea. We can but wait and see.

Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones is doing a talk in the Solaris Gallery at 2 pm on 19 October – all welcome, and a chance to ask questions. 

The Humming of the Sea

© Louise Whitham Relic of a polaroid of the sea

Hastings Arts Forum hosts another sea exhibition The Humming of the Sea, excellently curated by Tracy Jones. The show could have been a bit similar with the horizon sea line and the sea, yet they are all very different: from Anne Lydiat’s black and white images reflecting the sea from an interior scene of a table laid for dinner; Bob Campbell has captured a fleeting moment of a starling murmuration at the tail end of a sunrise; Tim E White’s large black and white meditative horizon line with its heart-lifting white strip of light that expose the mystery of that powerful body of water; and Louise Whitham, an exciting, innovative photographer, is showing her experimental polaroids, Relics of Polaroid of the Sea because they show the ravages of time. There is a strong element of  chance to the resulting photographs with its emulsion deteriorating from being subject to the forces of nature as they were left to the mercy of the sea, wrapped in newspaper and buried in pebbles outside a beach hut in Bulverhythe. A personal project, it reflects a terrifying sea swim and narrow escape on St Leonards beach.

 Photographers taking part are: Lauris Morgan-Griffiths (@laurismorgangriffiths), M Collins (@mangocollins), Agnieszka Szuba (@amszuba), Tim E White  (@timewhitefineart), Frank Francis (@frankandal), Anne Lydiat (@anneonrock), Neale Willis (@nealewillis), Ian O’Leary (@ian0leary), Gregory Heath (@gregoryheath39), Bob Campbell and Louise Whitham (@louisewhithamartist)

Repetition & Difference

© Imogen Bloor

Another fascinating show is at Electro Studios Project Space (ESPS). Curator, Neale Willis explains that “The show Difference & Repetition explores how things can seem similar and yet remain unique. Repetition isn’t mere copying; it’s a process that sparks newness and individuality. By examining how differences emerge through repeated patterns or actions, we can see identity, change, and creativity in a fresh light.”

Neale Willis invited three contemporary artists, Dawn Parsonage, Juan Covelli and Luke Stephenson to exhibit in the show which has broadened it out to artists living outside Hastings. Other exhibitors include Allan Mertner, Anne Lydiat, Catrin Strong, Gary Willis, Ian Land, Imogen Bloor, Joel Apps, Mamta Mertner, Mango Collins, Neale Willis, Roger Hopgood, Suzi Baker, and Tracy Jones.

© Dawn Parsonage Woman standing next to plant

Images bounce from the mundane to the extraordinary: Ian Land is  spending a year, from April 2024 to March 2025, photographing on the East Hill of Hastings. From that project are two images taken several months apart from the exact same spot but the view is entirely different; there are Luke Stephenson’s ice-cream 99 cones – while cycling around the British coastline in 2013 Luke became fascinating by the diversity and resemblance to each other ; Imogen Bloor hones in on details of the everyday environment –  the incidental, ordinary and the ‘in between’; and Tracy Jones’ blue painted oranges inspired by thoughts around identity, culture and language was conceived in Puglia, Italy when she was part of a residency; what could be considered unremarkable, elevates itself to the extraordinary is a series of photographs collected and found by Dawn Parsonage over 30 years, of women standing next to plants pointing up women’s timeless link between women and nature.

This can only be a taster of these three exhibitions, consequently, I have not had space to mention the many other talented photographers – the HAF and Electro exhibitions are on until Sunday 13th so go and see for yourself. However, this is just the start of the PhotoHastings Festival, there is more to come.

Defence of the Realm is at Solaris, 76 Norman Road, St Leonards, TN38 0EJ open Open Wednesday to Friday, 1pm to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 5pm until 5 November, 2024. The Humming of the Sea is on at Hastings Arts Forum, 20 Marine Court, TN38 0DX until 13th October, Tues to Sunday 11am-5pm. Difference & Repetition is on at Electro Studios Project Space, Seaside Road, St Leonards TN38 0AL from 10-13 October 12-5pm.

Read another HOT article about PhotoHastings Festival 2024 here.

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