new work

Barney, 2011 © Roy Mehta

Have added some new work to my website taken from recent projects. To start with the portfolios have been changed and updated to include some work produced in Nov and Dec.

The image here is of Barney who I was photographing with his dad, Ben and was taken outdoors in Dec ’11.

You can see some more new work on the site here: www.roymehta.com

Please feel free to post messages and/or comments.

Group exhibition in London

Tuesday 6th December will see the opening of a ‘Salon of Fine Art Photography’ organised by UncertainStates.com. There will be a exhibition of work by artists which will be on display throughout the year with new work being added and replaced regularly. Eventually there also be independent film nights and speakers organised around the venue.

Artists taking part are: Susan Andrews, Richard Ansett, James Russell Cant, David George, Damian Gillie, Robin Grieson, Victoria Kovalenko, Roy Mehta, Santa Piterniece, Hazel Pitt, Mary Pritchard, Spencer Rowell, Pete Shine, Eti Wade, Mick Williamson, Fiona Yaron-Field, Aviv Yaron

The opening is from 7.30pm on Tuesday 6th December at The Quarters Cafe 267 Archway Road close to Highgate tube station.

Normal opening hours are currently 9.00 to 5.30pm.

new work mushrooms

I have been producing lots of new work recently which will gradually be added to the website. Here is one small project on wild mushrooms that I have been working on over the last few weeks, mostly in nearby woodland. I will be producing more on this series shortly, but until then you can see more on the website: http://www.roymehta.com/projects/mushrooms/mushrooms1.html

 

new book cover

This is a new book cover for a paperback version of Orhan Pamuk’s novel ‘My Name is Red’ for which I was commissioned to produce the photography. Set in late 16th Century Istanbul, it was shot on location at Leighton House museum in London. Leighton House was the home and studio of Victorian artist Lord Frederic Leighton. Built to house his art collection, the central hall where the photograph was produced contains over a a thousand Islamic tiles which are from the same period as when the novel is set. Hence the suitability of the location.

The idea was to have a character moving across the background to reflect the mystery and intrigue within the novel. Design and production is by Eleanor Crow at Faber & Faber.

British Heart Foundation Annual Review 2011

I recently completed a commission to produce the photography for the British Heart Foundation’s annual review. There was a great design team both at the agency as well as the foundation who gave me an open brief to create some images that reflected a positive feel. The people in the images are all involved with the BHF either through treatment they have had for heart conditions or through doing research funded by the foundation. The work was produced over a 3 week period in the summer and involved photographing people all over the uk. This is a sample of the work, more information about the project can be found on this link:

http://www.nbstudio.co.uk/projects/bhf-annual-review-2011

Exhibition in London

I will be showing some new general work in a group show as part of London Photomonth 2011.

The show is organised by Uncertain States which is a lens based group of artists who deal with a diverse range of subjects. The exhibition will be an eclectic blend of work from all photographic genres. It will be at East Gallery 214 Brick Lane E1 6SA.

The show will run from 7th to 12 October with a private view on 6 Oct from 7pm.

new book cover

This is a new book cover for a novel by David Grossman taken from an image in my archive. This photograph, produced in Yorkshire about 5 years ago is from an ongoing series of botanical images.

Lee Friedlander: America By Car & The New Cars 1964

I unexpectedly had some free time today so I used it to see the new Lee Friedlander exhibition after which I felt that I should be spending less time in front of a screen and more time doing this type of activity – engaging with work on a much more personal level.  I would definitely recommend it.

There’s is an extraordinary quality to these images that make you want to look at them again and again.  The show works through the details – the detail makes the work – sometimes subtle, sometimes more obvious they all allude to a country that appears to be ill at ease with itself. The details that lie behind the thin veneer of optimism take the form of skid marks on a road or what appears to be a replica model car perched precariously on a pole; all of them in some way appear to reflect the American social landscape.

Included in the exhibition there’s  a previously unseen series of photographs taken in 1964 of the latest Cadillacs and other new cars. The brand new cars are parked in decidedly unglamourous locations, in unassuming side roads, outside empty shops and car parks. Within each image the car is seen in the distance, for example behind a shop with mannequins, or an empty seat in a shop that appears to have been abandoned. There is an extraordinary bleakness to these early images which appear to be a subversive protest against consumer capitalism. Originally commissioned by Harpers Bazaar, these images were not published and within that context it is easy to see why.

The work here can be seen to be a form of social criticism but the detailed and multi- layered approach of the work ultimately make this an uplifting and inspiring exhibition. If you go to see it let me know what you think…

new book on scottish photography

This is an interesting review of 19th century scottish photography. It is an early example of how people began to reinterpret their lives through the medium and can be seen perhaps as a precursor to the mass observation movement of the 1930′s.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/aug/12/st-andrews-photography-crawford-review

new work

This gallery contains 2 photos.

some new work, recently shot in Yorkshire for my book