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Energy: Sparks from the Collection
Whether generated by sunlight passing through a camera lens, triggered by the burst of a flash bulb, or forged by electricity coursing through a microchip, all photographs need some form of energy to exist
Whether generated by sunlight passing through a camera lens, triggered by the burst of a flash bulb, or forged by electricity coursing through a microchip, all photographs need some form of energy to exist
This display shines a light on the diverse kinds of energy in photography, from the hidden processes intrinsic to creating a picture, to the subjects in front of the camera.
Display highlights
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Leaves on a stem, photogenic drawing of a leaf, by William Henry Fox Talbot, 1839, England -
Le Souffle, photogravure, by Man Ray, published by Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution de l'Eléctricité, 1931, France -
From the series Libido Uprising, C-type print, by Jo Spence, 1989, Great Britain -
Inez Andrews with tambourine and Elaine Davis, concert Fairfield Hall, Croydon, Feb. 1965, gelatin silver print, by Val Wilmer, 1965, England -
Palermo, Sicily, 1972, gelatin silver print, by Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1972, Italy -
Big Bang, gelatin silver print, by Brian Griffin, 1986, England -
Riot Girl, C-type colour print, by Vinca Peterson, 1999, Great Britain -
Sans Titre 5, from the series Ça va aller, inkjet print on cotton canvas with hand embroidery, by Joanna Choumali, 2019. Purchased through the Prix Pictet Fund
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Header image:
Man Pole Vaulting, from the series Animal Locomotion, photograph, by Eadweard Muybridge, 1887. Museum no. PH.678-1889. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London