Enda Bowe's work, taken on the Belfast Peace Partitions, are on show in Eire
A new exhibition at the Gallery of Photography in Ireland brings together two renowned artists, Irish photographer Enda Bowe and music producer Max Cooper. The focus of the show is Bowe's photo series Love & # 39; s Fire Song, which is shown for the first time in Ireland. The photos were taken on either side of the Belfast Peace Walls, which were built over 50 years ago as a permanent dividing line between the city's Protestant and Catholic communities.
With no specific geographic references and political or religious symbols, Bowes' series instead looks at the "myriad joys and sorrows" of Belfast's youth as a collective and their shared sense of "longing, aspiration, aspiration and vulnerability," he says.
The creation of the series goes back to the symbolic bonfires that take place in Northern Ireland in July and August each year. Bowe trains a sensitive lens over his subjects to express a tenderness in photos, including his portrait of Neil, in which Bowe took second place in last year's Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.
Neil, who won second place in the 2019 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. All pictures by Enda Bowe
As with his earlier series Clapton Blossom, which was won in the Creative Review Photography Annual 2019, Love & # 39; s Fire Song draws on a warm palette, which here, however, ranges from soft pastels to fiery tones. Despite the title and concept of the series, fire plays a minor role. Instead, the campfires are the subtle glue that ties Bowes' motifs together.
As such, Bowe was less interested in the night of each bonfire and more inclined to capture the moments in time around her. "I was shooting in the last few weeks because that's when all the social and connecting activities take place. I was interested in people being together," he tells us. "These children come from such poor areas and have nothing to do – no skateboard parks or so. This is the highlight of their year. They are most excited about making the structures, collecting pallets, and all the mischief. "
There is an intricate gender dynamic in Bowe's identity check on the show that sets her head straight for the occasion. "It's also about masculinity and recognition. You have the four-year-olds hauling trash and giving it to the teenagers who climb the piles. And then you have the early 20-year-olds on top," he explains. "When you fall off , you may be dead. Older men look up for advice, but all get mutual approval. "
Wanting to expand the energy of the people he'd spent time with creating the series, Bowe decided to introduce music to the exhibit. He commissioned Belfast-born London producer Max Cooper to create a soundtrack – one that would create "a space of calm, an emotional experience away from the atmosphere of city life". Bowe, a fan of Cooper's work, says his music is "full of humanity, shifting emotions" and can "take the listener away from their current location while traveling."
Cooper found that he shared similarities with Bowe in how both of them center emotions in their work, and the collaboration was helped by the fact that he frequently used visuals as a starting point for his own solo projects, including his 2019 album Yearning for the Infinite. However, this is the first time he's working on still images. “In film, the tempo of the music is defined, but now that dimension of time was suddenly at a limit, and each moment was stretched indefinitely as you looked at each photo,” explains Cooper, adding that he strikes the balance between letting it be the music had to find images to breathe and capture the intensity when needed. Even so, he had "a surprisingly clear gut reaction about what worked and what didn't".
"It turns out it's easier to make art about things that are important to you because there is no revelation," he added. “And yes, I didn't think I'd make music on the subject. I've probably spent my life escaping it, but it's been a worthwhile process and a good lesson in the importance of taking on someone else's idea react."
"In this case, we have a politically and religiously charged background, but the photos are not about that, but about people and humanity, and about intensity, color and the feeling of being involved," says Cooper.
“After growing up part of an immigrant family in Northern Ireland in the 80s and 90s, I felt like I could comment on the human side of history without commenting on it as Enda could as someone from the south of Belfast visited over many years to document what he saw.
“I just had to look at the photos and the feelings flooded. Both the problems and the trauma as well as the power and intensity and the positive side of life that are embedded in the mindset of the region that I have only really come to appreciate since my departure. And so much more, feelings, ideas and colors could be brought into the music. "
For Bowe, the music struck a chord immediately. "His work really matched the feelings I had about Love's Fire Song, and Max from Belfast gave his work that extra level of experience for this sound installation," he says. “It's an incredible honor that Max is there. The score he made is so beautiful and exceeded all of my dreams and expectations. He made the exhibition what it is now, a haunting experience, a journey of contemplation, humanity, a journey without judgments, only possibilities and hope. "
Love’s Fire Song can be seen at the Gallery of Photography in Ireland until October 18th. galleryofphotography.ie; endabowe.com; maxcooper.net