Graham Hembrough
Oriel Ynys Mon, Llangefni, Anglesey
Graham Hembrough is an Anglesey photographer specialising in landscape. Possibly best known for his work photographing the coast around Newborough his work also adorns the walls of numerous hotels and establishments such as the management Centre in Bangor University.
This exhibition is an interesting concept, it takes work shot in the West of Ireland in the 1980s and juxtaposes it with work shot last year in the same locations, often featuring the same people. Speaking at the exhibition, Hembrough explained his concept and how two precially created books of his earlier work were keys that unlocked access to these people and places.
2014 marks the 30th anniversary of his first visit to Connemara
This exhibition is an interesting concept, it takes work shot in the West of Ireland in the 1980s and juxtaposes it with work shot last year in the same locations, often featuring the same people. Speaking at the exhibition, Hembrough explained his concept and how two precially created books of his earlier work were keys that unlocked access to these people and places.
2014 marks the 30th anniversary of his first visit to Connemara
What was immediately apparent from the work was how much has changed in the west of Ireland, yet paradoxically how much has remained the same. The material wealth brought by the 'Celtic Tiger' economy of the 1990s brought huge changes in the standard of housing in particular. It's not an uncommon sight to see two houses side-by-side, one the remains of small cottage, the other large, gleaming and ranch-like.
Gone too were the donkey carts, though the turf they carried is still cut and used, the old potato drills have gone and in their place is move to sustainable agriculture and new technology. Gone too are the inhabitants of many of the smaller island off the coast, thier cottages pictured abandoned to their elemental fate, though often the kitchen walls still adorned with the imagery of their Catholic former occupants. What remains fundamentally the same are the people, the quiet unshowy attitude and the genuine warmth of the welcome of the smiles, all accompanied by the ever present offer to share food or drink. This was an exhibition that was thoughtful without being ponderous, many of the images seemed easy to read yet had many layers of meaning to be peeled back and inspected to reach final conclusions. The nuances of life in that part of Ireland are not simple, no matter how uncomplicated you may consider the rural lifestyle. Politics, religion, tradition and often fierce tribal rivalries in sports such as Hurling and gaelic football are all important, there is no transfer system in gaelic sports, once a Galway player, always a Galway player. Hembrough's work shows those nuances, those small quirks that make this place special, no easy task and one accomplished deftly.
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