Copies of David Solomons’ books sold like hot cakes at the opening! We’ve only got a couple of copies of ‘Happenstance’ left in the gallery, priced at £13.95

We will be making a visit to the Truman Brewery to visit some degree shows, so get in touch if you want us to visit yours too! 

Send us an invitation to:

info@undergroundgallery.co.uk

We are also pleased to announce that we will be having an exhibition of selected work by this year’s Middlesex University’s graduates. Details to follow over the next week.

Pleased to see one of our upcoming shows on the London 2012 Festival app!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! SPREAD THE WORD!

I am curating an exhibition at Bridge Creative Studios. It’s a 1,200 sq ft space in Bermondsey and I encourage you all to enter. There will be music, live performance, free drinks and free entry! Spread the word! The closing date is the 31st May.

Christine

Copyright Bea Yates 2012

When did your interest in photographing social / political issues begin?

I did an internship with Magnum Photos in London at the end of my second year of university. Being at Magnum opened up a whole new world of inspirational photography, both old and new, a great deal of which of course focused on social/political issues. Some of the images I discovered in the Magnum archive really moved me and pushed me to find out more about certain situations, I suppose it was that which really made me understand the power of photography.

How did you go about collaborating with the organisations? How have they supported your work?

Most of the time I have already known the subject that I am interested in photographing and have then researched and contacted local NGOs involved in that area.  I have found though, that once you have collaborated with one NGO you often then establish links and contacts with other organizations through them. In Malaysia for example, I spent some time working with the local UNHCR team, whose work supported many small grassroots community groups, with whom I then unexpectedly became involved with.

How do you begin the process of deciding what to shoot? Is it a personal decision? Are you guided by changes in the worldwide social/political climate?

Copyright Bea Yates 2012

I believe it’s probably a little bit of both. I am of course very interested in the major stories and events taking place around us, but am particularly drawn to causes that we don’t see in the more mainstream news, with the aim of giving under-represented groups a way of having their stories heard.

I can imagine the challenges involved with reportage photography. Is access ever a problem? Do you have to spend a long time with your subjects before photographing them?

Photographing overseas is often difficult in terms of access, so I’ve tried to overcome this by collaborating with NGOs. Although the organizations I’ve worked with have always arranged a translator, it has often been frustrating not being able to communicate with individuals and communities myself. As a result of this, in the future I would like to concentrate more on shooting where I can speak the language and therefore can work independently on closer/more personal subjects, in my own time.

There are so many debates about subjectivity and ethics within the field of reportage, how does this effect your practice and the way you work with your subjects?

Copyright Bea Yates 2012

There is of course always an issue between making a powerful story and how it impacts the people that you are photographing. As I have mainly worked directly with NGOs and grassroots organizations, those photographs have been used to increase awareness and therefore funding for the essential work that they do. I feel that building relationships with them, and having input from social workers/other professionals from within the relevant field has helped me to realize the outcome of my work, and also inspired me to get involved with those communities in capacities other than photography. For example, since being back in the UK I have been involved in fundraising applications for some of the Burmese community groups that I was introduced to by the UNHCR in Malaysia.

What other projects are you working on at the moment?

Since coming back to London last year I have been concentrating on building up work for myself on a more commercial basis here, so that I can successfully support myself through photography in the UK, as well as getting together the funding to go overseas again and work on further projects. I hope to return to Asia later on this year and continue working with indigenous and refugee communities with whom I have remained in contact.

Check out more of Bea Yates’ work here!

Suley

Our new website is ready to go and has been for a week or so but we are having a few technical problems with making it live so please bear with us and we will hopefully be able to have it up and running this by the end of next week! It will have lots of new opportunities and ways to get involved on there!