John Darwell

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John Darwell (born 1955) is a British photographer.

Contents

Life and career

Darwell was born in Bolton, Lancashire, [1] in 1955. He has a BA in photography from Manchester Polytechnic, and a PhD from the University of Sunderland. (His thesis was titled A Black Dog Came Calling: A Visualisation of Depression through Contemporary Photography.) [2] He is a Reader in photography at the University of Cumbria. [3]

As a photographer, Darwell "roots himself in neglected landscapes". [1] His early work, published in Working Lives and The Big Ditch, was in black and white, but he moved to colour soon thereafter and has not used black and white since. [4]

Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock (published in 1993) shows the Liverpool docklands at a time when "the amount of cargo passing through the docks" was higher than ever before, but when, thanks to mechanization, everything was run by fewer than 600 men, down from over 20,000. [5]

For three weeks in late 1999, Darwell photographed within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone: Pripyat, numerous villages, a landfill site, and people continuing to live within the Zone. This resulted in an exhibition and book titled Legacy. [6]

The first pyre intended to check the British outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in early 2001 took place very close to Darwell's house in Cumbria. Darwell devoted a year to photographing this and its aftermath; the resulting book, Dark Days, "catalogues the destruction that consumed local farming communities and shut Cumbria off from the outside world". [7]

DDSBs: Discarded Dog Sh*t Bags shows "a typology of discarded plastic bags containing dog muck", photographs Darwell presents "as evidence of our half-hearted commitment to the ecological cause". [1]

Books by Darwell

Booklets and zines by Darwell

Solo exhibitions

Public collections

Notes

  1. 1 2 Dewi Lewis's page about the two books by John Darwell it has published is here Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. The photographer/publisher's information about this is here.
  3. The book is presented here by Josef Chladek.
  4. The publisher's website: democraticbooks.org. If this is unavailable, the PDF remains available from here, as archived on 13 July 2006 by the Wayback Machine.
  5. Café Royal Books' page about Sheffield: Tinsley Viaduct is here.
  6. Café Royal Books' page about Sheffield: Meadowhall, Hyde Park, Ponds Forge is here Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. Café Royal Books' page about Grangemouth and the Forth Estuary is here.
  8. The Velvet Cell's page about Chronicles set 2, including Desert States, was archived here by the Wayback Machine on 12 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 The Velvet Cell's page about Chronicles set 3, including Desert States, was archived here by the Wayback Machine on 23 August 2014.
  10. Café Royal Books' page about Sheffield: Things Seen whilst Wandering around Attercliffe is here.
  11. Café Royal Books' page about Sheffield: The Remains of Some Buildings around the Don Valley is here.
  12. Café Royal Books' page about Sheffield in Transition is here.
  13. Café Royal Books' page about The Dark River: Bolton — Farnworth is here.
  14. Café Royal Books' page about The Dark River: Kearsley — Clifton is here.
  15. Café Royal Books' page about The Dark River: Kearsley Power Station is here.
  16. Café Royal Books' page about The Dark River: Clifton — Death Valley — Agecroft is here.
  17. Café Royal Books' page about The Dark River: Agecroft — Salford is here.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Stephen Clarke, "John Darwell: DDSBs (Discarded Dog Sh*t Bags)", Redeye, 27 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 "John Darwell", Land2, University of Leeds.
  3. Staff page for John Darwell, University of Cumbria.
  4. Paul Herrmann, "Introduction"; John Darwell, Committed to Memory (Carlisle, Cumbria: Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, 2007), no page number.
  5. John Darwell, untitled afterword to Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock.
  6. Phil Daoust, "Atomic dustbin", The Guardian, 12 March 2001.
  7. Annie Kelly, "Journal of the plague year", The Guardian, 4 April 2007.
  8. John Darwell, ''Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock, copyright page.
  9. 1 2 "Fission for compliments", The Independent, 9 August 1997.
  10. Exhibition notice, Institute of Psychiatry. Archived by the Wayback Machine on 25 November 2005.
  11. Mark Drinkwater, "Exhibition focuses on 'journey through depression'", The Guardian, 3 November 2005.
  12. Natasha Howes, "John Darwell exhibition and events", Redeye, 11 May 2011.
  13. "John Darwell's photographs of forgotten Stockport show a town and industry in transition", Culture24.
  14. Look 11: International Photography Festival - Confined, Bluecoat.
  15. Ian Jackson, "Look11: 'Confined' at the Bluecoat". Art in Liverpool, 13 May 2011.
  16. Exhibition notice, Hatton Gallery. Archived by the Wayback Machine on 20 October 2013.
  17. "After Schwitters", Redeye.
  18. John Darwell interviewed by Walter Lewis Archived 2015-09-07 at the Wayback Machine , Photomonitor.
  19. "The Big Ditch: Looking at No. 9 Dock from Trafford Wharf; The Big Ditch", Victoria and Albert Museum.
  20. Search results, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  21. "Warehouse. Port of Liverpool / Serie 'Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock'", Museos de Tenerife.