Godwin's Land

Today, I went to a tour around the Fay Godwin Exhibition at the Bradford Media Museum hosted by the curator of the show. I had already been a couple of months ago to see the pieces of work but this was an opportunity to be told more in-depth about Godwin, her work, her life and what else she had achieved throughout her life. The show was "Land Revisited" and it was the 25th anniversary of the the work "Land" which was shown in 1985 at the museum. The curator talked about how Fay had started her career which was on distressing circumstances, she had divorced from her husband and was left to bring up her family and at the same time she was diagnosed with cancer. And how she came into photography was to try and earn some money to keep her family a float. She firstly took pictures of authors for their books, a complete 180 degrees away from what she is now predominantly known for today. And she then became interested in the other areas of photography like landscape. Below are some images from the exhibition "Land".

Single Stone, 1979

Flooded Tree, 1981

Rotting Car, 1982

Her work celebrates the landscape and ranges from all across England to over the seas in Sicily. The curator explained that she had acquired a reputation for herself that some people would describe her as aggressive, particular and difficult to work with. But he disagreed and said what all this was, was passion. She loved what she did and if someone was slacking she wasn't afraid to let them know about it. Honesty is the best policy. When the curator was talking you could see the admiration he had for her and her work which was touching. He also talked about how Fay didn't want to bring people into the landscape because she wanted the images to be timeless. And they are, when you look at them you don't think ah yes that lake looks like a 1970's lake, there is no obvious context, they could be taken at any time and still be related to modern times which I admire. Also it was made clear that Landscape was not her only forte, she was a keen painter and drawer and worked in colour photography and in cities. She was also part of the Bradford fellow in photography 1987-88 and she used this chance to really explore other avenues. Now, this may seem odd but I try not to find out when artists have died because it changes my whole outlook on their work, some of my fellow classmates were a bit shocked when I didn't know she had passed on but its my philosophy so tough. And I thought Fay may have passed away but didn't want to check for sure, when he said she had in 2005 my heart sank because all I feel is sadness for her and her work because she is no longer here to carry on her work and share her ideas with the rest of the world. She is gone and her work is left behind as her mark on the land. And what a legacy she left behind. The tour was insightful, informative and very enjoyable and has helped me develop my understanding of landscape for my project in conventions of photography. Until next time...