Parkour photography exhibition
By Andy Day
A series of fascinating photographs exploring the non-competitive sport of Parkour, launches at The Public on 27 January.
The first solo exhibition by British photographer Andy Day, curated by Birmingham based curator Caitlin Griffiths, forms part of the Art of Architecture, a series of exhibitions that looks at how artists engage with the built environment and influence the world around us.
Parkour is a high energy sport that involves moving through landscapes by running, climbing and jumping. Since 2002 Day has documented the rise of the phenomenon through its communities in London, France, Nicaragua and India, capturing participants navigating obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies.
The flâneur and the traceur (a Parkour practitioner) both have their origins in Paris. In the nineteenth century the flâneur walked the city in order to experience it and over 150 years later traceurs in the Parisian suburbs found new ways of moving through the very same spaces.
Day’s photographic work focuses on the built environment and social interaction, and through Parkour he documents new ways of seeing and moving through the city. The exhibition aims to challenge our understanding of how spaces are used and appropriated, and offer alternative ways of looking at urban design that might otherwise be ignored or forgotten.
The Parkour Photography exhibition is a Hereford Photography Festival touring exhibition.
The exhibition runs from 27 January to 20 May 2012, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Sunday, 11am – 3pm, and is free to visit.
The Art of Architecture also includes a fascinating 3D structure designed by award winning architect Will Alsop, video work from acclaimed film makers John Wood and Paul Harrison, suspended sculptural forms from Heather and Ivan Morison and photography from Rick Davies.
For more information about exhibitions at The Public visit www.thepublic.com or call 0121 533 7161.
