Gathered Leaves: Photographs by Alec Soth at the Science Museum, London
Alec Soth - from Sleeping by the Mississipi series
Gathered Leaves: Photographs by Alec Soth at the Science Museum in London
includes work from his four major photo books.
Although I am very familiar with the name, I never had a chance to see or read enough about Alec Soth's work.
This exhibition delves into his work which to me felt like a road trip,
experiencing Americana seen through his eyes.
In addition to the photographs, the exhibition includes Alec Soth's books, zines and dispatches from his road trips.
Alec Soth - from Niagara series
Like many great photographers and writers from the American canon – such as Robert Frank, Stephen Shore and Joel Sternfeld – Soth takes the open road as his subject, but brings to it his own unique and modern twist.
Through haunting, intimate portraits, desolate landscapes and wide open wildernesses, his work captures a profound sense of what it is to be human. Tenderness, joy, disappointment, fear or pride – his striking portraits capture the rawness of human emotion and the tension between our conflicting desires for individualism and community.
This exhibition presents his four signature series – Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), Niagara (2006), Broken Manual (2010) and the most recent, Songbook (2014) – and highlights his remarkable career and distinctive vision.
Alec Soth - from Songbook series
The exhibition is accomapanied by a special edition book Gathered Leaves which includes mini versions of Soth’s 4 books (3 of which are out-of-print) and 29 large format postcards.
Here are some photos I took from the exhibition which don't do any justice to the work. If you're in London, do visit this exhibition. It's on till 28th March 2016. It is also touring in 2016.
Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004)
Niagara (2006)
Broken Manual (2010)
Songbook (2012-2014)
I leave you with this video, Brad Feuerhelm of ASX in conversation with Alec Soth.
Gathered Leaves: Photographs by Alec Soth at the Science Museum is on till 28th March 2016. The exhibition will tour in 2016, the dates and cities can be found here.
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/exhibitions/alec-soth.aspx