human endeavour, photography, thoughts and ideas

‘The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its Own Right’

humanendeavour photography — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:02:32 +0000

Human Endeavour have been asked to be involved in a project by Banks Street Arts in Sheffield. The project is to respond to the title of Simon Armitage’s book ‘The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its own right.’ There is going to be an exhibition and publication. The exhibition will run from the 14th of May until the 8th of June atBank Street Arts.

Here are some of Richard Chivers photos for the project.

‘The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its Own Right’

humanendeavour photography — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:34:35 +0000

Here are Simon Carruthers photos and text for the exhibition.

At the tail end of 1988 the UK’s burgeoning house music scene was fast outgrowing the small number of clubs experimenting with this new sound. A handful of promoters, initially Genesis, Energy and Sunrise seized on an opportunity and started putting on illegal parties primarily in disused east London warehouses. As the scene began to gain momentum the raves moved to bigger venues outside of London, typically abandoned aircraft hangers and open fields surrounding the M25. These raves became known as the London orbital parties. Within a few months of this first spate of illegal raves the tabloid press were splashing headlines across their front pages deploring the menace of ‘acid house parties’ and inadvertently fueling wider interest in the rave scene.

At their height during the summer of 1989 the London orbital raves regularly attracted in excess of 5 or even 10 thousand ravers. To avoid detection by the authorities, the location of the raves would be kept secret until the last minute, and then announced on pirate radio stations or via information lines detailed on the flyers. Partygoers would congregate in their cars – usually at service stations – and travel in convoy once the rave had been set up and the location revealed. The police would only become aware of the location at the same time as the ravers, and were usually powerless to stop the raves due to being hopelessly outnumbered by partygoers.

Motorway service stations were ideal meeting points for the orbital parties as their locations provided easy access to the motorway system and ample space for hundreds of vehicles to congregate relatively out of sight. The close proximity to trunk roads gave the ravers an advantage when the location of the rave was announced and the race commenced to arrive onsite ahead of the authorities. It was not unheard of for the service station car park itself to become the scene of an impromptu party if the intended rave was delayed or cancelled and scores of partygoers found themselves stranded.

This series is an attempt to evoke the feeling of anticipation and excitement felt during the early months of the rave scene when a hedonistic party in a secret location would, with luck, consume the night ahead.

‘The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its Own Right’

humanendeavour photography — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:25:30 +0000

Bank street arts write about the exhibition:

The title alone of Simon Armitage’s 2011 poetry pamphlet, The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its Own Right (published by The Poetry Business) was the inspiration behind and catalyst for this exhibition. Created to coincide with the second Sheffield Poetry Festival, selected photographers were invited to take part as much for the differences in their approach and style as for any similarities in their work. The resulting exhibition is an eclectic show of contemporary photography in which participants have used the title of Simon’s pamphlet as a point of departure, alongside the work of others who have more closely referred the content and mood of the original poems. Whilst all involved were aware of who else was taking part and free to communicate with each other, most of the work was undertaken in relative isolation. Photographers taking part are: Si Barber, David Barnes, Andy Brown, Simon Carruthers, Richard Chivers, Andrew Conroy (with the collaboration of Simon Armitage and Ian Baxter for the soundtrack), Alex Currie, Jessa Fairbrother, Sam Mellish, Andrew Robinson, Tribble and Mancenido.

Here are a selection of Alex Curries photos.

23 Red Lions. Simon Carruthers

humanendeavour photography — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:13:29 +0000

The number of pubs in England is in steep decline. Between 2006 and 2012 an average of 23 pubs permanently closed their doors each and every week. The finger of blame is often pointed at the big supermarkets selling discounted booze, the stalling economy and the smoking ban introduced in England in mid 2007. Property developers and supermarkets have been accused of predatory purchasing especially where high street pubs occupy sizable plots or include car parking space. Tesco alone has recently acquired 130 pub sites, intended for Metro convenience stores. Each of these factors has no doubt had a significant impact on the number of pub closures but there is a lesser-known and potentially more consequential reason for the high numbers of failures.

Half of the pubs in England are operated by PubCos – large property companies who lease pubs out to tenant landlords. PubCos are accused of squeezing profits from landlords by monopolising and overpricing the alcohol they supply to their landlords and charging rents well above market value. Otherwise successful businesses are being forced to close because landlords are unable to draw a living wage whilst PubCos reap the profits.

The reasons may be numerous but the fact is singular: England’s public houses are closing down at an unprecedented rate – during the last decade the overall number has been reduced by 15%. This matters because it is a blow to a fundamental of English culture, but mostly it matters because all too often a pub is the focal point for a community.

23 Red Lions is an England-wide survey of Red Lion pubs that closed down between 2006 and 2012. The series is titled after the most common pub name in England.

Glasgow Effect. Print Sale Fundraiser. SAT 17th Nov.

humanendeavour photography — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:44:33 +0000

Human Endeavour Collective will be holding a unique print sale as part of the Brighton Photo Fringe closing party this Saturday night to raise funds for continued research and development, and to enable the continuation of the ‘Glasgow Effect’. All the architectural exhibition prints by Richard Chivers and Alex Currie will be for sale as part of unique fundraiser offering people the opportunity to own a unique print, at the same time helping the Human Endeavour Collective move forwards with their research, and enabling the progression of this project in the early stages of its development. All the prints have been beautifully hand printed on Kodak archival paper by local photographic specialists Endframe Photographic. Sized at 24 x 20”, each print will be signed and come with a certificate of authentication. Each print will be unique and will only be available as a one off, and won’t be available as part of a wider edition in this size. Prints will be sold on a first come served basis at £100 per print, however expressions of interest can be emailed to info@humanendeavour.co.uk for people not able to make the Brighton Photo Fringe closing party on Saturday night at Phoenix Arts. A full selection of the prints are available to view below. Prints will be available to collect on Monday 19^th November, or can be mailed anywhere in the world for a nominal charge to cover the costs of postage and packaging. Please spread the word and thanks for taking the time to read this and participate in Human Endeavour’s activities.

Phoenix Brighton

10-14 Waterloo Place,

Brighton, BN2 9NB

All the Photographs below will be on sale.

Human Endeavour at the Brighton Photo Fringe. Glasgow Effect 6th-18th Nov.

humanendeavour photography — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:02:33 +0000

Human Endeavour will be exhibiting a new project called Glasgow Effect at the the Brighton Photo Fringe. Alex Currie and Richard Chivers are working with Glaswegian photographer and filmmaker Chris Leslie to examine why in Glasgow you are more likely to self harm, suffer from behavioural problems, commit suicide or acts of violence and ultimately die a premature death than in any other post industrial city in the UK.

The exhibition runs from the 6th-18th NOV at Phoenix Arts Brighton.

OPENING RECEPTION. TUES 6th NOV 6pm-9pm.

Phoenix Arts Brighton, 10-14 Waterloo Place, Brighton, BN2 9NB

www.glasgoweffect.com

www.humanendeavour.co.uk

Photo. Alex Currie

Wideyed Collective at the Brighton Photo Fringe.

humanendeavour photography — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 11:13:10 +0000

Human Endeavour are excited to be helping the Wideyed Collective put on an exhibition for the Brighton Photo Fringe. The show will be outside behind St Peters Church in Brighton opposite Phoenix Arts.

In 1869, Josephine Bowes laid the foundation stone of the grand house destined to be both a home for her and her husband, John, and a place for them to house the large collection of artworks they intended to share with the people of Teesdale, County Durham.

Sadly, neither John nor Josephine Bowes lived to see the accomplishment of their project. The Bowes Museum was still opened to the public on 10th June 1892, but some areas of the building remained incomplete. Josephine’s ballroom never saw the grand parties it was intended for. Over the years, its bare plaster walls saw the caretakers’ children play and grow before being annexed as a temporary storage space for the collection.

In 2008, the neglected roof was restored and works began to turn the ballroom into a new archive for paintings, prints and books, with carefully designed new floor levels and a warren of dedicated spaces, innovatively structured to sit within the unusual, original building structure.

The images are of a space in transition; an unfulfilled dream about to find new life, but tinged with the stillness and sadness of what might have once been.

‘Lost Waltz’ is Wideyed exhibition by Richard Glynn, curated by Human Endeavour, as part of Brighton Photo Fringe 2012.

EXHIBITION VENUE: The North Lawn, St Peter’s Church, York Place, Brighton BN1 4GU

EXHIBITION DATES: 6th October – 18th November 2012

Collectif Human Endeavoura showing Degeneration at Voies Off. Arles Photography Festival.

humanendeavour photography — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:24:37 +0000

Human Endeavour (or Collectif Human Endeavoura as we are known in France) will be showing their project Degeneration at Voies Off. Arles from the 02nd of July to the 7th of July. http://www.voies-off.com

Degeneration will be featured during a night screening in the court yard of Archbishops Place.

Human Endeavour in Glasgow. The Glasgow Effect.

humanendeavour photography — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:49:17 +0000

Human Endeavour have been in Glasgow investigating ideas around their new collaboration called the Glasgow Effect.

The project is a collaboration between Richard Chivers, Alex Currie and Glaswegian photographer Chris Leslie.

Most of my investigations so far have concentrated on Glasgow’s vast amount of High Rise housing blocks that dominate the sky line. Glasgow has supposedly got the largest concentration of Tower blocks in the Country. (Although many now seem to be coming down)

From the 1950′s to the 1970s Britain saw a boom in the construction of High Rise Tower Blocks, inspired by Le Corbusier’s designs but on the most part not constructed to the same design standards, many of the Tower Blocks in Glasgow suffered from the use of cheap materials and rushed construction meaning the tower blocks soon suffered from structural decay. This led in many cases to what Lynsey Hanley describes as “Slums in the Sky”.

The Gallowgate Twins. Glasgow. (Tallest towers in Glasgow) Richard Chivers

Woodside Glasgow. richard chivers.

Red Road Flats Glasgow. Richard Chivers

Human Endeavour visit the Rowner Estate and Harefield Estate.

humanendeavour photography — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:58:55 +0000

Human Endeavour have had a day trip along the South coast to the Rowner Estate in Gosport and the Harefield Estate in Southampton.

Rowner Estate. Richard Chivers

Harefield Estate. Richard Chivers

Harefield Estate. Richard Chivers.

Harefield Estate. Richard Chivers