In honour of Paul Lowe

Pressura 2024 / “Visual Poetry On Social Photography” / exhibition closing

Organised by: Pressura Nomadic Art Colony and Gallery Of Contemporary Art Tirana

Press release:

29.10.2024 – 18.30

Closing of the exhibition

In honour of Paul Lowe

Born in Great Britain in 1963, Paul Lowe left behind his legacy as a photojournalist, academic, writer and critic. Among many important awards and achievements, he was honoured with the Royal Photographic Society's ‘Vic Odden’ award in 1999 and the ‘World Press Photo’ award in 1993. A member of ‘VII Agency’, represented by Panos Pictures, his work was published, among others, in the ‘New York Times’, ‘Newsweek’, ‘Life’, ‘The Sunday Times Magazine’, ‘The Observer’ and ‘The Independent’.

He was also professor of “Conflict, Peace and the Image” at the University of the Arts London, where he led the world-renowned Master's programme in documentary photography. Before his career as a lecturer, Lowe worked as a photojournalist between 1980 and 2000, in more than 80 countries around the world. Paul Lowe documented and bore witness to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, famine in Africa, the destruction of Grozny in Russia…

But it was his work in Sarajevo during the years 1992–96, where he documented the siege of that city, which held a particular importance, one that was also translated into an exhibition shown over these past two months at the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Tirana. In this exhibition Lowe felt especially proud to present the images in large formats, photographs shown more than 30 years after they were taken.

“During the siege of Sarajevo, I tried to document the lived experience of that city's citizens. With this exhibition in Tirana I want to tell of their resilience, courage, humour, creativity and energy, in the face of the aggression they confronted”, he told the public during the exhibition's opening ceremony in Tirana.

“THE SIEGE OF SARAJEVO”

Paul Lowe tragically passed away on Mount San Gabriel in California, only a few days earlier, on 12 October 2024. It was a great honour to have had him in Tirana with what is now considered his last exhibition, so this closing day will be dedicated to him, in honour of the testimony and visual poetry of his that has accompanied us over these past two months. The gathering will open with a curatorial address on the significance of Lowe's work, followed by a screening of a documentary on the ‘Siege of Sarajevo’, in which Paul, in his own words, leaves us a rare and precious testimony.

Press on the exhibition: Exhibition | Visual Poetry on Social Photography | Paul Lowe, Seamus Murphy, P.J. Harvey, Burim Myftiu, Belvis Fusha, Fabrizio Bellomo

About the exhibition:

VISUAL POETRY ON SOCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

The exhibition stood open to the public for two months, from 3 September to 28 October 2024. This exhibition sheds light on the inequalities, injustices and instability of our era. It offers an intimate look at lives that are often ignored, overlooked, invisible, and it does so through a deep exploration of human resilience and the search for meaning in human existence. The photographs and videos selected for the exhibition interact with one another and with the public, offering a multifaceted exploration of social themes, from individual intimate battles to the wider social movements that shape our world.

Artists in the exhibition:

Paul Lowe: “The Siege of Sarajevo“

Seamus Murphy & P.J. Harvey: “The Hollow of the Hand“

Burim Myftiu: “Ordinary Saints“

Bevis Fusha: “Terminal Spirit Disease“

Fabrizio Bellomo: “Anulloje Ligjin“

Press on the exhibition: Under the auspices of the Mane foundation, the exhibition “Visual Poetry on Social Photography” opens at the ‘Gocat’ gallery

The whole exhibition was conceived and built site-specifically, fully adapted to the context of the Gallery of Contemporary Art Tirana, of the former Pyramid of Tirana, and more broadly of Albanian society, shedding light on the inequalities, injustices and instability of our era. Over the two months it stood open, the exhibition offered us an intimate look at lives that are often ignored, overlooked, invisible, doing so through a deep exploration of human resilience and the search for meaning in human existence. The photographs and videos selected for the exhibition interacted with one another and with the public, offering a multifaceted exploration of social themes, from individual intimate battles to the wider social movements that shape our world.

The exhibition comes as a public action of “Pressura – Nomadic Art Colony”, founded two years ago by EJAlbum and a group of artists and intellectuals, which aims not only to show, through photography and art, the socio-political landscapes of our time, but also to provoke thought and dialogue, encouraging artists to consider their roles within society. In this exhibition, by combining social photography with video in a contemporary way, and further with a full programme of meetings between artists and lectures, Pressura brings out what is innovative today in the visual arts and how artists continue to document events while also attempting to influence the world around them.

Visual Poetry of Social Photography is the Pulse of our Society. Social photography is more than an artistic endeavour; it is a way of life based on documenting the human condition and on social, political and artistic activism. The exhibition, then, underlines the importance of this medium in fostering awareness for change, bringing the most urgent social issues to the fore.