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John Darwell

Faculty profile link
http://www.johndarwell.com/

John Darwell works with museums and galleries on projects that reflect his interest in social and industrial change, issues around the depiction of mental health and his concern for the environment.

His has exhibited and published widely, both nationally and internationally, including exhibitions in London, Amsterdam, the USA, Mexico, South America and the Canary Islands. Most recently his work was shown in

‘Liminal Britain’ at The University of North Texas; ‘Uneasy Spaces’ at 80 Washington Square East Gallery, New York and ‘Terror’ at Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco. His work is featured in a number of important collections including the National Media Museum/Sun Life Collection in Bradford, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

He has had seven books of his photographs published, including ‘Legacy: Inside The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone’ (2001) ; ‘Dark Days’ (2007) a major study of the 2001 Uk Foot and Mouth epidemic and ‘Committed to Memory’ at 25 year retrospective of his work to coincide with exhibition of the same name at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle in May-July 2007.

He is currently working on projects ‘After Schwitters’ based on the artist Kurt Schwitters ; DDSB’s a study on the phenomenon of discarded dog s**t bags and has just begun a major new project ‘The Allotment as Cultural Landscape’.

In 2008 he completed his practice led PhD research entitled ‘A Black Dog Came Calling: A Visualisation of Depression Through Contemporary Photography’.

He is currently Senior Lecturer at the University of Cumbria teaching on BA and MA courses in photography and supervising PhD candidates.

Further examples of John’s work and additional background information can be found at: http://cumbria.ning.com/ and www.johndarwell.com.

DDSB’s

Over the past two years I have observed with increasing fascination the growing number of discarded dog shit bags (ddsb’s) I encounter whilst out walking in both open countryside, urban parklands and even suburban streets. This has led to a great deal of speculative thought on my part as to why this situation has developed.

I can fully understand dog owners simply ignoring their dogs output (unpleasant as it is for anyone who encounters it with all its negative health associations) as it will in a relatively short time biodegrade and essentially disappear. I can also appreciate dog owners who scoop and bag dog mess and place it in a bin for disposal. What I fail to understand is the increasing number of dog owners who bag their dog’s mess and then discard in bushes or hang on fences/tree branches or leave in the middle of pathways and playing fields. Is this purely about not wishing to be fined and thereby picking the right moment to surreptitiously dispose of the offending article? Whatever the reasoning the ddsb has very quickly become a feature of our environment.

The images presented here become typologies that reflect on the nature of function and style and confront the viewer with the (often unseen) contents of the bags leading to a mixture of amusement, bemusement, curiosity and revulsion.

'Not Starting From Here'

'This work is a journey of exploration and encounters along the Cumbria coastline (home of the Lake District) in the most north western county in England.

The work travels from the northerly point of the coast to the counties southerly most point. The only limitation I set myself being that whenever I took a photograph I had to be able to see the sea somewhere within my field of view whether it appeared in the image or not.

This region is rich is post industrial history and notorious for being the home of the Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Plant.

My aim was to produce a personal journey to help me better understand my feelings for this 80 mile stretch of coastline within the county I had made my home'.

Further examples of John’s work and additional background information can be found at: www.johndarwell.com.

Education/Qualifications

  • 2008
    • PhD, Sunderland University entitled: ‘A Black Dog Came Calling’: A Visualisation of Depression Through Contemporary Photography.
  • 1976 -1980
    • BA Hons, Photography, Manchester Polytechnic.
  • 1974 -1976
    • Bolton College of Art and Design, Foundation Course.

Current Academic Positions

Senior Lecturer 0.8 in Photography, University of Cumbria teaching on MA and BA Photography courses and PhD supervision.

Recent Projects/Conferences

  • Masterclass leader in conjunction with State Legacy exhibition at Cornerhouse and Manchester Metropolitan University 2009
  • Speaker. National Photography Conference, Manchester 2009
  • Speaker Images & Ideas of the North conference, University Northumbria 2009
  • Arts Council England Project Funding Award 2008
  • University of Bolton Research Award 2008
  • Keynote speaker. Margins/Work Conference. Slovakia October 2007
  • Committed to Memory. Retrospective exhibition/publication Tullie House Carlisle May 2007
  • Dark Days book published March 2007
  • Uneasy Spaces exhibition 80 Washington Square East Galleries, New York Aug-Nov 06
  • Terror exhibition. Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco Aug - Nov 06
  • Visiting artist/speaker University North Texas, October 05
  • Visiting artist/speaker, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, October 05
  • One of four artists invited to exhibit on webgallery for SAFoto, USA Sept 05 - Jan 06
  • Speaker at documentary photography conference, Napier University, Edinburgh, Sept 05
  • Visiting lecturer Domfoto Summer school Poprad, Slovakia, August 05
  • Dark Days. Speaker at ACE conference on experiences of documenting Foot and Mouth outbreak in Cumbria.(University of Arizona) San Antonio, Texas. June ‘05
  • Speaker at IVSA conference, San Francisco Arts Institute on experiences of documenting Foot and Mouth outbreak, August ‘04
  • Speaker at Tate Britain conference on Kurt Schwitters in England, July ’04

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2007
    • Committed to Memory Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle
  • 2005/6
    • A Black Dog Came Calling Institute of Psychiatry Gallery, London
  • 2004
    • (h)arris, installation sited at 15 rail stations along Cumbria Coastal Line
  • 2003
    • After Schwitters - Kurt Schwitters & the Merzbarn Conference, Cumbria
  • 2002
    • Consequences, Inaugural exhibition Gallery Oldham
  • 2001
    • Legacy, Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle
    • By Association, Tom Blau Gallery, London
    • By Association, Folly Gallery, Lancaster
  • 1997
    • First and Last, Viewpoint Gallery, Salford
    • By Association, Mill Gallery, Carlisle
  • 1996
    • Where it all began, Centro Colombo Americano, Medellin, Colombia
    • In Isolation, Euston Station Escalators, London
    • Workplace. Durham Art Gallery, Durham
  • 1995
    • Jimmy Jock…Fotonoviembre, Centro de Fotografia, Santa Cruz, Tenerife
  • 1994
    • The Big Ditch, Duncan of Jordanstone Gallery, Dundee
    • Scratching the Surface, Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle
  • 1993
    • Jimmy Jock, Albert & the Six Sided Clock, Maritime Museum, Liverpool
    • The Big Ditch, Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead
  • 1992
    • The Big Ditch, Manor Gallery, Carlisle
    • The Big Ditch, Calderdale Industrial Museum, Halifax, Yorkshire
  • 1991
    • The Big Ditch, Castle Park Arts Centre, Frodsham, Cheshire
  • 1990
    • The Big Ditch, Maritime Museum, Liverpool
    • The Big Ditch, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Blackburn
  • 1989
    • Borderland, Manor Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria
    • Regeneration, Untitled Gallery, Sheffield
  • 1987
    • Working Lives, Bonnington Gallery, Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham
  • 1986
    • The Big Ditch, Viewpoint Gallery, Salford, Manchester
    • Working Lives, Side Gallery, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
    • Working Livess, Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport
  • 1984
    • Cityscapes, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Cumbria
    • Landscapes, Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 2009
    • Wanderlust, Bank Gallery, Carlisle
  • 2007
    • Legacy Harbour Gallery, Whitehaven, Cumbria
  • 2006
    • Water Level Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle
    • Terror Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco
    • Uneasy Spaces 80 Washington Sq East Galleries, New York
    • New Views, Old Landscapes Circle Gallery, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
    • The Cultural Documents of FMD Holden Gallery, Manchester
    • Liminal Britain University of Texas Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
  • 2005
    • In Isolation, SAFotofest, San Antonio, Texas
    • New Horizons, Lowood Gallery, Cumbria
    • Dark Days (abridged) ICIA, Bath
    • Madness Palazzo Magnani, Reggio Emilia, Italy
    • Liminal Britain University North Texas Art Gallery, Denton, Texas
    • (f)actual. The Gallery, Napier University, Edinburgh
    • Moment by Moment, Lowood Gallery, Cumbria
  • 2004
    • A Black Dog Came Calling, Mad For Arts Exhibition, Tate Modern
    • Images of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Epidemic, Royal Agricultural Show
  • 2003
    • A Different World. Part of River Journey’s exhibition. The Lowry, Salford
    • Disaster Areas. ArtConnexion. Amsterdam. inc R.Misrach, P. Seawright
  • 1999
    • The Shed, Collins Gallery, Glasgow
  • 1996
    • Untitled Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico
    • Water, Photometro Gallery, San Francisco, USA
    • Discoveries, Foto Fest, Houston, Texas, USA
  • 1995
    • Paradise Lost, National Museum of Photography, Film & Television
  • 1991
    • The Sheffield Project, Mappin, Graves and Untitled Galleries, Sheffield
  • 1990
    • Transport in the Park, Trafford Park Arts Centre, Manchester
  • 1989
    • Regeneration, Untitled Gallery, Sheffield
    • Common Roots, Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester
  • 1987
    • 100 Years of Photography in Salford, Viewpoint Gallery, Salford
  • 1986
    • Sun Life, Best of British Photography Awards, NMPFT, Bradford

Book Publications

Monographs

  • 2007
    • Committed to Memory, A 25 Year Retrospective, Tullie House
    • Dark Days, Dewi Lewis Publishing
  • 2004
    • (h)arris, Design Works, Cologne. Part of Democratic Books (#9) series
  • 2001
    • Legacy: Inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Dewi Lewis Publications
  • 1993
    • Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock, Cornerhouse Publications
  • 1989
    • A Sense of Place, Rural Arts Publications
  • 1987
    • The Big Ditch, Countryside Publications
  • 1986
    • Working Lives, Stockport Art Gallery

Various artists

  • 2009
    • 30 Years of the Site Gallery, Site Gallery Publication, Sheffield
  • 2007
    • Photography Practice & Research in Sunderland, University of Sunderland
  • 2006
    • Uneasy Spaces (catalogue) New York University
    • Composition AVA Publishing David Prakel
    • Photo Projects, Argentum. Ed Chris Dickie
    • Liminal Britain, (catalogue) University North Texas
  • 2005
    • Madness (catalogue) Palazzo Magnani, Italy
    • Fotoseptiembre USA, (catalogue) San Antonio Foto Festival, Texas
  • 2004
    • Massive Change. Bruce Mau Design, Canada
  • 2002
    • Love, Labour, Loss, 300 Years of British Livestock Farming in Art, catalogue
  • 2001
    • Foot and Mouth, Heart and Soul, Small Sister Publications, Caz Graham
  • 1996
    • Foto Fest (catalogue) Houston, Texas
    • Artists Stories, AN Publications, ed. Anna Douglas and Nicolas Wegner
  • 1995
    • 3rd Bienal Internacional, Fotonoviembre, Centro De Fotografia, Tenerife
  • 1988
    • British Journal of Photography Annual
  • 1987
    • British Journal of Photography Annual

Exhibition/Book Reviews

Photography, British Journal of Photography, India Weekly, Creative Camera, Artscribe, Arts Review, Portfolio, Creative Review, Artwork, London Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Independent, Afterimage, Culturas, San Antonio Current, SME Kulture, Contemporary #94

Magazine Folios

  • 2007
    • Ag The International Journal of Art Photography
  • 2006
    • Cumbria Life UK
    • The International Journal of Epidemiology OU Press UK
  • 2005
    • The Paris Review USA
    • Journal of Occupational Health OU Press UK
  • 2004
    • The International Journal of Epidemiology. OU Press. UK
  • 2003
    • Adbusters. May/June # 47 Canada
    • Adbusters. Mar/April # 46 Canada
  • 2002
    • Baby Magazine, issue 7 Amsterdam
    • ZOO Magazine, issue 12 UK
    • Adbusters. Jan/Feb # 39 Canada
  • 2001
    • The Guardian G2. Pages 10-11. Dated 12.03.01 UK
  • 1997
    • Portfolio, issue 25 UK
  • 1996
    • Photometro, spring issue. USA
    • Fotografia, no 56 Spain
  • 1994
    • Fotografia, issues 3 & 4 Greece
  • 1993
    • Camera Austria, issue 43/44 Austria
  • 1988
    • BJP, Feb issue UK
  • 1987
    • Creative Camera issues 8 & 9 UK
  • 1983
    • Camera & Creative Photography, June UK

Plus images/articles/reviews include: Contemporary Magazine, Afterimage, New Scientist, Photo Art International, The Guardian, BJP, Artworks, Art News

Other Media Coverage

  • 1996
    • Postcards From Paradise, featuring John Darwell, Fay Godwin, Ingrid Pollard and Conrad Atkinson, Border Television documentary
  • 1986, 1999, 2002
    • The Tanner and the Hat Maker, BBC Documentary on Working Lives

Awards

  • 2009
    • University of Cumbria Research Award towards production of ‘The Allotment as Cultural Landscape” project
  • 2007
    • Arts Council England North West. Production award
  • 2003
    • Arts Council England North West. Production award
  • 2001
    • Northern Arts ‘Artists Professional Development Scheme’ mentoring award
  • 2000
    • Northern Arts Publishing Award for Legacy
    • Northern Arts ‘Visual Arts’ Award
  • 1999
    • Northern Arts ‘Visual Arts’ Award
    • Short listed for Northern Electric Arts Achievement Award
  • 1998
    • Northern Arts ‘Photography Production Award’
  • 1997
    • British Council ‘Visiting Artist’ Award
    • Northern Arts ‘Travel and Training’ Award
  • 1996
    • Northern Arts ‘Photography Production Award’
  • 1995
    • Northern Arts ‘Photography Production Award’
  • 1994
    • Northern Arts ‘Travel and Training’ Award
  • 1993
    • Northern Arts Publication Award
    • Arts Council of Great Britain Publication Award
  • 1992
    • Northern Arts ‘Photography Production Award’
    • Northern Arts ‘Travel and Training’ Award
  • 1990
    • Northern Arts ‘Travel and Training’ Award
  • 1986
    • Short listed, final four, NMPFT/Sun Life Award
    • Arts Council of Great Britain Publication Award
    • North West Arts Photography Award

Residencies/Workshops

  • 2006
    • Dom Foto Summer School, Poprad, Slovakia
  • 1995/6
    • Durham Art Gallery
  • 1988
    • Manchester City Art Gallery
  • 1986
    • Stockport Art Gallery
  • 1985
    • Bolton College of Education

Selected Public Collections

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
  • Centro de Fotografia, Tenerife
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, London
  • Kings College/Maudsley Hospital Trust, London
  • British Film Institute, London
  • Arthur Anderson Collection, London
  • Site Gallery, Sheffield
  • National Museum of Photography, Film and Television/ Sun Life Collection, Bradford
  • Maritime Museum, Liverpool
  • Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle
  • City Art Gallery, Manchester
  • Arts Council North West, Manchester
  • Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport
  • Viewpoint Gallery, Salford

Associate, Part-time and Visiting Lecturer experience 1981 onwards

  • Blackpool & Fylde College
  • Bolton College of Education
  • Counter Image Photography Workshop, Manchester
  • Cumbria Institute of the Arts
  • De Montfort University, Leicester
  • Edinburgh College of Art
  • Inversnaid Photography Centre, Stirling
  • Kendal College
  • Leigh College
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Napier University, Edinburgh
  • Newport College, University of Wales
  • Nottingham Trent University
  • Mid Cheshire College, Northwich
  • Rochdale College of Art & Design
  • Stockport College of FHE
  • Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
  • University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
  • University of Bolton
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Chester
  • University of Cumbria
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Houston, Texas
  • University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
  • University of Northumbria at Newcastle
  • University of Sunderland
  • West Surrey College of Art

 

John Darwell

e-mail: john@johndarwell.com
website: www.johndarwell.com.