The Street: New exhibition interpreting archives opens at Light House

The Street

Light House Gallery in Wolverhampton introduces a new exhibition which encourages us to question what we find in the archives. The Street by Andrew Jackson and Dean Kelland takes archive photographs, interviews and film and explores historical and contemporary debates on immigration in Britain, using racial tensions of the 1960s in Smethwick as a starting point. The Street exhibition will be showing in Light House’s Main Gallery until Friday 17 June. As part of the exhibition there will be a talk by Pete James, Head of Photographs at Birimingham Library who will be talking to Kelland and Jackson about their exhibition and discussing the role of archives, on Thursday 16 June, 6.30pm. Admission is free to the exhibition and talk. For more information visit www.light-house.co.uk

The Street presents stories, memories and photographs from two culturally different perspectives. By interpreting what they have found in the archives, combining fact and fiction throughout, Jackson and Kelland encourage the audience to question what they see, hear and understand in the exhibition. This exhibition plays on our faith in archives, photographs, history and documentary and asks people to come to their own conclusions.

This is the first time the two artists have worked together and is the first showing of this exhibition. Andrew Jackson is a documentarian and graduate of the MA Documentary programme at the European Centre of Photography, Newport. Dean Kelland is a contemporary artist currently undertaking a PhD in Fine Art practice at Central St Martins. Both artists have exhibited extensively around the UK. Kathryn Kliszat, Light House Curator said “This show is a little different to our usual exhibitions and we are challenging our audience who are used to seeing more or less “straight” documentary work in the gallery. The artists Dean and Andy want visitors to interrogate their exhibition and not take everything they see at face value.”

The 2011 exhibition season at Light House will be showing work featuring archive photography. The upcoming exhibitions will see rare, archive photographs from the V&A fashion photography archive on display in the gallery. There will also be a chance to see new work being made specifically to go into future archives by renowned British documentary photographer Martin Parr. The season starts with The Street exhibition, showing until Friday 17 June. Followed by The Street exhibition talk on Thursday 16 June, 6.30pm. Admission is free. For more information contact Light House on t: 01902 716055 / e: info@light-house.co.uk or visit www.light-house.co.uk