Paul Greenleaf

When I was in London recently I popped into The Photographers' Gallery and caught Fresh Faced and Wild Eyed 08- A new annual exhibition presenting the most dynamic new work by visual arts graduates from BA and MA courses across the UK. I was very taken by the work of Paul Greenleaf, perhaps because he uses one of my favourite things as a starting point for his photos- old postcards.


From his website:

My work is concerned with how the land has changed physically, by neglect, ‘development’, coastal erosion or other factors, but also the way the cultural landscape is changing, illustrating the effects of time on people's lives and the environment.

I collect postcards from many sources such as flea markets and antique shops. In each case I aim to find the exact spot the original picture was taken from and document the view in rich detail as large scale prints. The postcards I choose to work on are from the last forty years (within my own lifetime) when colour photography and printing technology was being introduced.

The written notes on the cards, provide the title for each photograph creating a narrative to each image and giving a unique insight into people's lives. The title Correspondence derives from the comparison of the images, past and present, and the original function of the found postcards.

The new photographs are also published as postcards and presented as part of the exhibited work, with the intention of being used by members of the public, thereby perpetuating the original functionality.

I picked up some of his postcards from the show and will send one to the first four people to leave a comment for me to read when I get back from my holiday (oh how I love the ability to schedule posts to take place in the future)