Blog

David Zimmerman focuses on Tibetans in exile

19th Dec

We first met David in Cannes in 2009 at the Sony World Photography awards.  He and his wife, Marilyn, were such charming people that we spent much of the week with them, eating drinking and of course talking photography.  David has an amazing passion for the image and believes deeply in its power to influence.  His Desert series won him both the professional Landscape award and the L'Iris D'Or (the overall award) that week.  His evocative images of light playing on the dunes of the US southwest simply astounded the judging panel.

David's photographs are beautiful.  The way he captures light, his compositions and technical ability are phenomenal.   However his images are subtly realised and riven with a deeper meaning inspired by his deep concern for environments and people.  The Desert series were as much about the fragility of the ecosystem as its beauty, subsequent projects focused on individuals affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the eerily degraded landscape of the Salton Sea.  His present project, to examine the experience of exiled Tibetans living in northern India, will I am sure reflect his sensitive eye, but also convey the troubling times these exiles are living through.

David anticipates making 500 portraits ranging from the Prime Minister of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to the lay people of Ladakh.  This aim has greatly benefitted from the personal support from HH The Dalai Lama and the CTA (an organization based in India with the stated goals of "rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and restoring freedom and happiness in Tibet").

As well as carrying out his own work, David is collaborating with Exile Lens - a group of Tibetan photographers dedicated to preserving a visual legacy of Tibet.   This has involved running photography workshops in Dharamsala, India, to improve people's basic skills, as well as demonstrating the storytelling and creative potential of photographs.  David has been overwhelmed by his pupils' enthusiasm, so much so that it crossed is mind to give up photography and become a teacher instead! 

 

David frequently writes about the warmth and generosity of the people he is with.  I imagine that he makes friends quickly and this desire to get to know his subject only enhances the sensitivity of his portraits.    On one occasion, in Ladakh, he tells me that he, a complete stranger, asked a mother if he could take away her children for an hour or so to take their photographs.  She replied with "Yes, but would you like to have some tea first?".  A level of trust that I, as a mother in the UK, find difficult to imagine but it is perhaps indicative of both him and Ladakhi society.

 

This is an exciting and important long-term project, I look forward to seeing the results and sharing them with you. 

 

David Zimmerman, Tibet, Monks, Photography

John Kenny talks about Sub Saharan Journeys: 6 years of visiting Africa's remotest communities

21st Sep

Courtesy of The Globetrotters Club, John will be giving a talk about his Sub-Saharan journeys this Saturday 14th April, 2.30pm at The Church of Scotland, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden.  Entrance £6 per non member. 

Since 2006 his focus has been on Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the pivotal role that traditional communities play in humanity's survival in places where the earth's resources are minimal. His work emphasizes the positive role that Africa and Africans play in the 21st Century and also highlights the threats to traditional ways of life today. John's work has been exhibited worldwide through international art shows and has been featured in The Times of London, The Telegraph, and the international art and photography press.

John actively supports organisations that work within traditional African communities and has been a guest on BBC Radio and at the London International Documentary Festival. Last year John donated works in support of Survival international, Concern Worldwide, and his work was auctioned at Sotheby's New York in aid of 'Art for Africa'.  John has been visiting tribes across the African continent for six years as part of an ongoing photography project and will be talking through his most memorable experiences across West, East and Southern Africa. The talk will be accompanied by a slideshow featuring some of the remarkable people that he has met on this journey, and why these people and their communities matter to him in the 21st Century.







http://globetrotters.co.uk/blog/saturday-april-14th-2012.html
John Kenny

Art For Africa - James Sparshatt and John Kenny exhibit at Sothebys NY

05th Jun

The second Art for Africa auction was held on 17^th November in New York (the first auction, held in London in 2009, raised $750,000).

Art For Africa benefits the Africa Foundation, which was set up 20 years ago, working in partnership with the eco-tourism industry in Africa to empower rural African communities through sustainable development projects.

Capital Culture's James Sparshatt with Soweto Strings (palladium platinum print) and John Kenny with Lines that Lead to Perfection (at an impressive 56 X 38 inches) were exhibiting alongside U.S. artists Warhol, Peter Beard, Alex Katz, Nick Cave, Ross Bleckner, Matt Magee and Jeff Sonhous.   African artists Mary Sibande, Sue Williamson, Dylan Lewis, Peterson Kamwathi, Beezy Bailey, Creative Block, Mikhael Subotzky were also auctioned.

The Gala dinner and Auction Preview was held at Sotheby's in New York City on the 12^th October.   Guests included Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and his wife Mary, Lola Ogunnaike, Nina Griscom, Cristina Cuomo, Enyinne Onwunwanne, Mia Morgan, Jennifer Creel, Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke, and artists Peter Beard, Kehinde Wiley, Andres Serrano, Julian Lethbridge, Nan Goldin, Hunt Slonem, Caio Fonseca, E.V. Day, Mary Sibande, Shinique Smith.

"The first highly successful sale in London saw enormous enthusiasm from collectors for works by some of the rising stars of African and international contemporary art," said Scott Nussbaum, contemporary art specialist at Sotheby's.







www.artforafrica-newyork.com
James Sparshatt, John Kenny

Last Refuge - A new series of photographs by David Zimmerman

30th Mar

We are pleased to announce a new series of work titled 'Last Refuge' by award winning photographer David Zimmerman.   About this work David explains:

 'The 'Last Refuge' series was photographed in a community of people who live in the desert entirely removed from society, where there is no water or electricity. Driven by hardship and the need for independence, these people create shelter with scrap and good intentions. The clothing in these pictures was one mans roof.'  

 'Last Refuge' has been exhibited at the Detroit Centre for Contemporary Photography and will open as a solo exhibition in New York City, in Soho on the 8^th December.   David's photographs have also been shortlisted for the Terry O'Neill Award 2011, opens 8^th December at the Hot Shoe Gallery, London.   

A new series of platinum / palladium prints from David's Desert project has been awarded third prize by juror Michael Mazzeo (Michael Mazzeo Gallery, New York City).

www.davidzimmerman.com