Archives – 2009
James Hughes: Spectres of Place – Three Decades of Ulster Interiors
Friday 4th – Saturday 26th September 2009
Spectres of Place was an exclusive selection of Hughes’ 30 years of photographing Ulster interiors.
PLACE is delighted to be able to show the work of one of the leading photographers of his generation. James Hughes is from Ballymena and this exhibition charts 30 years of the capture of hidden spaces through photography. The decaying textures and fragmented remains of private lives are exposed to us. His examination of the remnants of private space helps us to revisit the lives of those who lived here in Northern Ireland in recent decades.
There is much current discussion of public space and transition of public to private space and that debate can only truly be developed in the context of the full knowledge of the nature of private spaces. This is a timely examination of the most private spaces, the interior transition spaces such as stairs and circulation hallways.
This exhibition allows local audiences to see a collection of works that examine people without the people forming part of the image, in doing so James is composing stories as much as images. James Hughes’s work is influenced through a personal examination of world photography and literature. The image as story is clear in the work in this exhibition. His photographic essays capture life and past lives as he finds these around the world.
Michael Hegarty, PLACE Director
September 2009
About the Artist
James Hughes was born in Ballymena in 1957. His childhood was spent using a box brownie made by his mother who had worked for Kodak. He was self-taught in the 1980s through the influence of late 20th century photography and literature, influences which continue to link through his practice to date.
Educated in a variety of schools through emigration to Australia in the 1960s, finishing with an engineering apprenticeship in the 1970s. More recently he completed an MA and at present is working on a PhD at the University of Ulster.
Related
James Hughes website
See a preview of the book accompanying this exhibition at Blurb.com – also available for sale in the PLACE Bookshop
PLACE Blog: Interview with James conducted by A-level Art student Ellen Warwick