Photo London Portfolio 2021

On a recent trip to England with my wife Marilyn, I was surprised by the opportunity to attend Photo London, the first international photo fair since the pandemic began. I was able to secure tickets before our departure for the final day of the event. That day, a Sunday, was a typical London mix of rain and sun but manageable for most of the day. This sixth edition of the event was held at Somerset House on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. On display were works from 88 galleries from 15 countries. There was definitely something for everyone who attended. A review of the event by Musée with some of the highlights and more details of this extensive happening can be found on the Photo London website noted above.

My excitement for Photo London was threefold. Number one was to attend this event and enjoy seeing the tremendous range of photographic talent, number two was to record the activities and relationships between the artwork and those attending in order to share the event visually with Arizona Photography Alliance members back home. Number three, along with seeing the exceptional, diverse photographs and documenting the activities at Photo London, I was also determined to locate a photographer I had read about in The Guardian earlier this year.

Strolling through exhibition space after space, on the one hand, I couldn’t help but notice the dichotomy of the viewers versus the art work. While it appeared many visitors to the photo fair might be a bit conservative in nature, the flamboyant, incredible imagery seemed to burst with power off the walls. Either by position, action, or expression there was an interesting flow of interactions. Ironically, on the other hand, at times, there was similarity between the attendees and the people portrayed in the photographs. It was a real “people watching experience”. I found myself wondering just what viewers were thinking as they moved from gallery to gallery, intently examining the work in front of them.

Photographer, Charlie Phillips, the target of my intended third goal at Photo London, worked in the United Kingdom and Europe from the 1960s through the mid 1970s. After a difficult period in the early 1990s, his photographic work was finally recognized. According to the compelling article I read in The Guardian, Phillips lives in the London area and I had hoped to reach out to him for a conversation. I thought Photo London would be a good place to find his contact details.

As I photographed the event, I began asking local gallery owners and staff if they knew Charlie Phillips. After much discussion throughout the day, I finally received information about him. Our plan was to tour the rest of the country for three weeks, but I was already excited to follow up on the information when we returned to London. As I was trying to catch up to Marilyn while leaving the exhibition, I bumped into a man who looked just like the photo I had seen of Charlie Phillips in The Guardian article! I was a little stunned and stated, “You look familiar; what is your name?” “Charlie Phillips,” he said. I introduced myself to him and his wife, and we had a short chat. The coincidence was wonderful and before we departed, we exchanged cards. It is certainly my thought to have a future conversation with Charlie Phillips. Hopefully, in that future, we won’t have Covid to deter photographic events such as London Photo, and Charlie and I will find a time to have a longer talk.