15 Jun The work of Essex photographer Ed Gold will be celebrated
by Matthew Martino
The work of Essex-based documentary photographer Ed Gold will be celebrated in a major exhibition at Firstsite, Colchester, opening 17th June 2017.
Entitled Ed Gold: Other Worlds, the presentation is made up of 100 photographs taken over a period spanning almost thirty years. These have been selected from Gold’s personal archive, and the various bodies of work chosen represent his ongoing interest in isolated communities (both geographic and social): Patagonia, Country Folk (Essex, Wales & Scotland), Afghanistan Bed Spaces, Positive Futures and Nowitna.
The written word is an integral component of Gold’s photographic practice. He notes conversations he has in the community, occasionally using a recording device to capture the words more fully. He also keeps a diary of his own daily reflections. At the end of a project, this writing is condensed and appears alongside each of the photographs, offering a further narrative and a deeper, more intimate engagement with the subjects than the images alone can provide.
Country Folk (Essex, Wales & Scotland) is an amalgamation of three bodies of work, and includes some of Gold’s earliest photographs – the Essex images that date from 1988. Many of these depict men and women who work on the land – as Gold did himself while taking these photos – capturing a way of life little changed in 100 years. Meanwhile, the Positive Futures series reveal people and communities that are ‘off-grid’, celebrating those who have eschewed conventional society.
A self-taught photographer, Ed Gold began documenting people and communities whilst working as a farm labourer in Essex in the 1980s.
