Art / Photography
Acclaimed photographer Jem Southam returns for talk in Bristol
When Jem Southam worked as a photographic assistant at the Arnolfini in the late 1970s, he documented the area around him changing almost beyond recognition.
Those photographs that he took on his lunch break are now some of the most memorable snapshots of a bygone era.
And those photographs were also the start of a successful career for Southam, now professor of photography at the University of Plymouth; and whose works are held by the Tate, the V&A and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Bathurst Basin
Hotwells and Canons Marsh from Cliftonwood
Prince Street Bridge
Southam’s grandfather, Harry Cottrell, spent his working life in the Bristol docks as a shipping clerk, overseeing the arrival, unloading and distribution of guano, with Southam keen to further explore what the Floating Harbour meant to his family and the community.
Southam will be discussing his photographs of Bristol docks at Design West on June 17 from 6.30pm to 8pm.
For tickets and more information, visit www.designwest.org.uk/whats-on/jem-southam-the-lost-harbour
Ashton Avenue Bridge
Welsh Back
Spike Island
Hotwell Road
All photos: Jem Southam
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