I took a trip to London recently for a gallery visit. Why? For inspiration primarily. And, conveniently, it coincided with a friend’s birthday later that evening… The exhibitions mentioned below all come highly recommended.

The Photographers Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street W1 7LF

Ever so slightly confused because it’s moved since I was last in London, I started with The Photographer’s Gallery, which is now in a bigger, self-contained site in Ramillies Street, not over two buildings as before. Their featured exhibition until 14th June is the Photographic Object, a selection of artists experimenting with the photographic form. I particularly liked Gerhard Richter’s overpainted photographs, which seemed to give a whole new life to the original prints; and Catherine Yass’ Damaged series, where she mistreats her films in a variety of interesting ways from ‘under shoe’ to ‘in canal for two weeks’. Perhaps I should try this one day…

Diane Arbus Child with Toy Hand Grenade

I then moved on to the Diane Arbus exhibition at the Timothy Taylor Gallery with work from the period 1957 – 1971, many of which had not seen in the UK before. It’s a marvellous study of the weird and wonderful: from Russian midgets and Child With Toy Hand Grenade to a waitress at a nudist colony (with an apron for protection) and the Human Pincushion. All very simple portraits taken in natural environments; and shot in a more innocent time where the subjects were clearly self conscious but proud.

Not restricting myself to just photography, I also visited the Tate Britain for the Turner-Rothko exhibition. I think Rothko works in isolation (there was a great exhibition in Manchester during my college days where whole rooms were dedicated to one or two paintings) but couldn’t see the benefit of a comparison. (Feel free to disagree, art lovers). The Turner exhibition, however, is comprehensive and very impressive, from his small and delicate watercolours, through his classical grand landscapes, to the subtle and abstract seascapes.