Reflection • Gallery Print and Exhibition Experience

We were given the opportunity to exhibit one of our final images at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery over the course of May and June alongside our peers work for the public to see. It was a great experience to have my image exhibited in a gallery, and although not the first time I have shown my work in a gallery, it was a good experience to be able to work to a set brief and have all the images the same format and size.

I chose this image as my final exhibit image because it was my favourite from the start, I researched a lot into the building itself and how many times it had been sold etc. Also, the two images lined up well and it looks professional.

My image is second from the top. I think that the overall exhibition looks really good and reflects the module and the hard work we have put in as a group really well. I do not plan to be an art photographer, so this exhibition wasn't experience that I can apply to my future career path. However, I have my own solo exhibition in October in my hometown, and knowing where to contact for prints and mounting of images was useful, as I now know the quality of different places.

I wrote a small explanation of my work to be presented alongside my print in the booklet that a member of the course is printing and distributing:

"Laura Jane Parkinson’s work looks into the familiar landscape of her given area; Eccles in Salford. Inspired by the work of Nicky Bird, Laura’s series of photographs challenges the misconception of the local landscape constantly changing. In this series of images, Laura places together images from the Salford Museum and Archive alongside the present day view to show the similarities that still remain through the architecture of the area. The photograph exhibited shows how these two houses on Victoria Crescent, Eccles, have remained the same over a timespan of 60 years. The set consists of six images, all looking at the same area in Eccles, laid out in the same format as the image shown. Laura hopes that this series of work can give the audience an appreciation of the local area and the heritage, as well as make passers-by look twice at the local scenery and the age of buildings around them, as well as the regeneration the area is undergoing currently."