FOTOHOF will present the first exhibition of the British photographer Simon Roberts in Austria. Simon Roberts is a prolific and internationally renowned photographer of the contemporary British photography scene, who has spent the past 10 years tracing the “British“. The exhibition in Salzburg is titled “Landscape Studies of a Small Island“, the beginning of an international exhibition tour of this work.
In 2005 Roberts began to deal with the question of what it means to be British and decided to focus his camera on his own country, the British and their landscape. The result is a series of several works showing the political, social and cultural British landscape. Non-judgmental and free of irony, his photographs provide evidence and information about social relations not only between people, but also between people and the places of their leisure activities in the English countryside.
“We English“: The first major work that followed a long trip to Russia was a one-year trip across England, Simon Roberts sharing a camper with his family. It consists of 56 large-format photographs that trace the social and cultural signs and signs of what it means to be British. The camper was more than just a means of transportation, it became an integral part of Roberts’ work, as the increased perspective created the possibility of an unusually high viewpoint.
For “The Election Project“ Simon Roberts was commissioned to document the election campaign for the British Parliamentary Elections in May 2010 and to tour the country again in a mobile home. For the first time, a photographer was selected for the role of the “election artist“. Again, from the slightly elevated perspective of his motor-home, Roberts followed the unprecedented variety of political parties in his country, but also the profane reality of the election campaign. He also documented the smaller, independent candidates who were acting outside mainstream press coverage.
In his third work on Great Britain, he draws his attention to the landmark of British leisure, the sea. Instead of crossing the island, Roberts followed the coastline. For “Pierdom“, he traveled the “edge of Great Britain“ and documented all 58 piers in the bathing and coastal resorts of Great Britain.