Our photography programme features international, renowned and emerging artists and photographers working in various parts of the world encouraging dialogue between contemporary imagery and archives, reflecting on the evolution of photography as a storytelling genre.
Messums Photography is delighted to represent the following artists: Angela Williams (UK), Alexander Lindsay (UK), Dod Miller (UK), Jeffrey Milstein (US), Jean-Vincent Simonet (France), Justin Keene (South Africa), Nii Obodai (Ghana), Polly Penrose (UK), Tif Hunter (UK) and Yan Wang Preston (UK, China); commissioned works by Ingrid Pollard (UK) and Shohei Fujimoto (Japan); and up-coming exhibitions featuring works by Sophie Green (UK) and Laura El-Tantawy (Egypt, UK). The department will explore contemporary narratives in photographic practices with the benefit of lateral perspective across different artistic medium.
As well as a site for selling, Messums Photography offers clients, members and broader audience expertise in the genre of photography through a monthly series of online conversations with each of our artists as well as critical interrogations into photography making techniques and lens-based narratives today. Messums Photography aims to present compelling content across its online and physical platforms that is timely and relevant, encouraging us to think photography as a way to navigate, comprehend and question how history has been depicted and remembered.
Alongside exhibiting contemporary photography, Messums Photography is partnering with the Kogan Collection on a ground-breaking series of exhibitions. The Kogan Collection is one of the largest private collection of conflict photography in the UK and has to this date, never been shown. With more than 350 prints dating from 1895 to 2015, a group of 800 vintage NASA photographs, first and limited-edition photography books, Life, Picture Post and Time magazines and artefacts, the Kogan Collection offers an in-depth and comprehensive view of the history of photojournalism and documentary photography in Europe and North America. These works will be the frameworks of an exhibition programme that explores the varying approaches and artistic choices compiled under the label of documentary photography and the wider narratives surrounding the history of press photography as an industry and photojournalism as a profession.
The launch of the Photographic Department is marked by ‘Close Enough’, a touring exhibition featuring unique vintage photographs by Robert Capa from the Kogan Collection. Capa is a legend in the history of photo-journalism and possibly the most famous war photographer of the last century. This exhibition will feature a succession of iconic stories made throughout his career, from the altogether varying contexts in which he found himself. ‘Close Enough’ starts its journey at Photo London in September 2021, and expected to tour our London, Wiltshire and Yorkshire venues.
Laura El-Tantawy is an award-winning British/Egyptian documentary photographer, artful bookmaker & mentor. Born in Ronskwood in Worcestershire, UK, she studied in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the US & UK. Living between East and West for much of her life inspires her work, which contemplates notions of home & belonging through exploring social & environmental issues pertinent to her background.
Born in 1989. Based in Tokyo. From a primitive perspective, explores perceptual experiences of essential nature through attempts to concisely capture the data and facts behind phenomena and shapes, emphasize them, and complicate them.
Sophie is a social documentary and art photographer based in London. Her photography is a spontaneous, intuitive reaction to the ordinary; celebrating the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of the human experience.
For the past seven years, photographer Tif Hunter has nursed an interest in ‘tintypes’. These are handmade, one-off images which use a nineteenth-century technique, developed in the early days of photography. Hunter’s pioneering work with tintype portraiture, combined with 21st century lighting techniques, has led to many commissions including those from The Jerwood Foundation and retailer Toast.
Justin Keene (b. 1989) is a documentary photographer based between London and South Africa. He holds a Philosophy MA from The University of Edinburgh and is currently on a part-time Documentary Photography Master’s at the University of South Wales.
Alexander Lindsay creates photographic landscapes of extraordinary beauty. For the past forty years, Lindsay has brought his cameras to the most extreme situations and environments on the planet. From his earliest experiences with the Maasai tribe, a five year spell in Afghanistan during Soviet occupation and his expeditions to photograph and film the wreck of the Titanic 4km beneath the ocean.
Dod Miller grew up in the former Soviet Union, the US, and South Africa. He returned to the UK when he was 14 and continued his education in South London. After leaving school, he joined the Hastings Observer and the Sussex Express training as a photographer.
Woodstock, NY-based Jeffrey Milstein was born in the Bronx in 1944. He received a degree in architecture from UC Berkley in 1968, and practiced as an architect before turning to photography in 2000. Milstein earned his pilots license at 17, and his passion for flight led to his well-known typology of aircraft photographed from below while landing.
Nii Obodai is based in Accra, Ghana and Maputo, Mozambique. He works with photography, audio, and text and is particularly interested in photography as a medium for recording and celebrating the unseen and the everyday in Africa.
Polly Penrose studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Arts in London. She went on to work in Fashion Styling and after that worked for the photographer Tim Walker. She has always taken photographs, but started to take the practice seriously when she entered and won a competition held by the London Photographic Association in 2008.
Dr Ingrid Pollard is a photographer, media artist and researcher. She has developed a social practice concerned with representation, history and landscape with reference to race, difference and the materiality of lens-based media. Her work is included in numerous collections including the UK Arts Council and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Recognised for her expert ability to excavate the humanity at the heart of landscapes, Yan Wang Preston (b. 1976, Henan Province, China) has created numerous acclaimed series which explore the mercurial relationship between people and place.
Jean-Vincent Simonet’s practice fuses analogue images, digital techniques, collage, montage, sculpture and painting with remarkable fluidity. His work is permeated by a sense of overload, exuberance and entropy. Body and decor, nature and artifice, poses and emotions collide and merge into the poetics of excess that forms the basis of the artist’s research.
Angela Williams (b. 1941) started her career as a freelancer in the 1960s. Aged twenty-one she was introduced to the eminent fashion photographer Norman Parkinson. Williams soon became his personal assistant, resulting in a close working relationship and creative collaboration that continued throughout her subsequent career. She worked with Jeremy Banks on the Observer New Supplement.
26 April – 26 May 2023
Jean-Vincent Simonet (b. 1991) graduated from École cantonale d’art de Lausanne in 2014. His practice fuses analogue images, digital techniques, collage, montage, sculpture and painting with remarkable fluidity. His work is permeated by a sense of overload and exuberance and characterised by a penchant for sheer entropy.
23 November – 6 January 2023
On the occasion of Jeffrey Milstein’s first solo show in the UK, Messums London presents a selection of works documenting patterns of culture in Europe and the United States as viewed from above. Milstein trained as an architect before turning to photography. Growing up his two interests were art and flying; becoming a pilot as a teenager. His first portfolio, Aircraft the Jet as Art, has been exhibited throughout the world, including a year-long solo show at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
1 June – 1 July
Dr Yan Wang Preston (b. 1976, Henan Province, China) is recognised for her expert ability to excavate humanity at the heart of landscapes and explore the mercurial relationship between people, nature and place through photography and performance.
Alexander Lindsay ‘Scotland, Bonnie Broukit Bairn’
14 August – 25 September
Photographer Alexander Lindsay’s aim is to transport his audience to experience the landscape and be moved by it, in the same way that he was at the time of being there.
15 September – 1 October
Robert Capa (1913 – 1954) is a legend in the history of photojournalism and possibly the most famous war photographer of the last century.
15 September – 1 October
Messums Photography present a selection of works from the series ‘In the Shadow of the Pyramids’ by award-winning British Egyptian documentary photographer Laura El-Tantawy, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.
22 October – 28 November 2021
In October 2021, Messums Photography presented ‘Showtime’, a solo show of young documentary photographer Sophie Green in our Wiltshire venue. Green’s
14 December – 7 January 2022
On the occasion of the release of the highly anticipated book ‘Birdmen’, Messums London organises an exhibition of unique vintage photographs by Dod Miller and a book signing in our Cork Street gallery.
12 January – 11 February 2022
Messums London presents its first contemporary photography show by artists Nii Obodai and Justin Keene. Through a selection of delicately composed and elusive images, this exhibition opens up layers of entry points for the viewer, allowing us to consider within an aesthetic language our relationship with nature and read cultural history through the environment.
12 – 15 May 2022
Messums London presents Laura El Tantawy (UK/ Egypt), Nii Obodoi (Ghana) and Yan Wang Preston (UK/ China) at Photo London 2022.
1 June – 1 July
Dr Yan Wang Preston (b. 1976, Henan Province, China) is recognised for her expert ability to excavate humanity at the heart of landscapes and explore the mercurial relationship between people, nature and place through photography and performance.
12 May – 11 June
Messums London is pleased to present Tales of Africa, an exhibition of 15 photographs of renowned author Karen Blixen’s life in Kenya and a commentary on the objects as markers of colonial history.
Monday 19 December, 4pm
Join Jeffrey Milstein in conversation with Anthony Matsena, as they explore the processes and stories behind Jeffrey’s iconic photographs.
Jeffrey Milstein was born in the Bronx in 1944, received a degree in architecture from UC Berkley in 1968 and practising as an architect before turning to photography in 2000. Growing up his two interests were art and flying, becoming a pilot at the age of 17.
Wednesday 1 June, 2pm
Charlotte Jansen and Yan Wang Preston in conversation introduced By Zelda Cheatle. A discussion with artist Yan Wang Preston in relation to the four major bodies of work in her solo exhibition With Love
Wednesday 19 May, 6:30pm
Online talk with Dr Ingrid Pollard and photography historian Dr Julie Bonzon. A response to Karen Blixen’s photographic archive.
Wednesday 2 June, 6:30pm
A conversation with Michelle Angwenyi on the photography, literature and memory and Karen Blixen’s legacy in Kenya.
The Karen Blixen photographic collection offers intimate depictions of Karen Blixen’s daily life in Kenya through her brother’s eyes.
Thursday 27 May, 6pm
In 2019, Jeffrey Milstein received a special permission to photograph in the restricted airspace above Paris.
Paris is, without question, one of the most photographed cities in the world, but Jeffrey Milstein’s aerial vistas provide an unparalleled visual experience of the city.
Wednesday 28 July, 6:30pm
Join us talk with photographer Yan Wang Preston interviewed by our director of photography Dr Julie Bonzon.
Wednesday 14 July, 6:30pm
In this online talk, Johnny Messum and Julie Bonzon will share advice on how best to start a collection of photography.
Wednesday 15 September, 6:30pm
David Kogan will introduce his photography collection which includes work by the renowned war photographer Robert Capa.
Wednesday 22 September, 6:30pm
Join us for a talk with award-winning British Egyptian documentary photographer Laura El-Tantawy interviewed by our director of photography Dr Julie Bonzon.
Friday 22 October 2021
Online talk with documentary photographer Sophie Green interviewed by our director of photography Dr Julie Bonzon on the occasion of ‘Showtime’ her first solo show in our Wiltshire gallery in October 2021.
Monday 22 November 2021
With guests the acclaimed documentary photographer Martin Parr CBE, social and art documentary photographer Sophie Green and documentary photographer Dod Miller as they discussed British eccentricities, cultural customs and humour in photography.
Friday 14 January 2022
Land as a conscious being: Nii Obodai presented ‘Big Dreams’ and ‘Paradox of Paradise’.
Messums London presents its first contemporary photography show by artists Nii Obodai and Justin Keene.
Friday 21 January 2022
Messums London presented its first contemporary photography show by artists Nii Obodai and Justin Keene. Through a selection of delicately composed and elusive images, this exhibition encourages us to ponder our relationship with nature and read cultural history through the environment.
Friday 4 February 2022
On the occasion of Messums London first contemporary photography exhibition ‘Resonances’, visual artists Nii Obodai and Justin Keene were in conversation with Stephanie Blomkamp, founder of Oath magazine, on the visibility, circulation and championing of African photography today.
The establishment of Messums Photography is a recognition that the vitality of material being produced by artists in this medium is attracting the attention of collectors looking to expand their knowledge and interests. Alongside providing individual support to photographers and visual artists, the department offers guidance on secondary market sales, research and cataloguing to collectors, institutions and estates.
Messums Photography is affiliated to our London office, a refurbished 1950’s art gallery on Cork Street in the heart of Mayfair. Messums London is part of the Messums Wiltshire and Messums Yorkshire group of gallery spaces founded by Johnathan Messum in 2016.
Johnathan Messum has always had an interest in photography, a curiosity sparked for him in the late 1990’s by the work of ground-breaking American artist Nan Goldin, as well contemporary Australian photography and tintypes. His London, Wiltshire and Yorkshire galleries engage a wide and diverse audience and celebrate the best of artists and conceptual craft and the skill of the hand when applied to creativity across the ages.
Born in Switzerland, Julie Bonzon is a London-based art historian and a specialist in South African Photography. Following a Bachelors in History of Art and Social Sciences at Université de Lausanne, she completed a Masters in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and an AHRC-funded PhD in History of Art at University College London. Her curatorial motivation is centred around photography as a reflection of our times, cultures and transnational histories and contemporary and modern works engaging notions of intimacy, care and empowerment. Bonzon has worked on curatorial and education projects for the Cultural Department of Magnum Photos London, The Photographer’s Gallery, The Ian Parry Scholarship and private photography collectors.
Photos: in order of appearance
Sophie Green, Boy and Chicken, 2015. © Sophie Green
Jean-Vincent Simonet, In Bloom, Flowers #1, 2016. © Jean-Vincent Simonet
Nii Obodai, Untitled #13, 2010. © Nii Obodai
Yan Wang Preston, Y60_5,900km from the river source, 2013. © Yan Wang Preston
Tif Hunter, Pear, 2015. © Tif Hunter
