Peter Bennett

Peter Bennett

Course Leader for Photography
London School of Film, Media and Design
peter.bennett@uwl.ac.uk

My work explores the aesthetic representation of memory and forgetting through the use of photographic and other visual metaphors. It reflects upon the processes of loss, forgetting and erasure in relation to the hastening structures of temporality that have accompanied the rise of modernity.

I work mainly within the genres of landscape and still life. My recent work examines the book, the sea, and the materiality of the photograph and photographic processes, as metaphoric and material repositories of memory.

I am interested in the idea that through the use of specific metaphors, memory is seen as having particular aesthetic properties and structural characteristics. When viewed through the prism of photography, I examine how the processes of remembering and forgetting take on a similar appearance; the latent image that gains visibility and solidity through development, gradually fading again, melting back into the invisibility from which it was formed.

  • Qualifications

    BA (Hons) Photographic Studies (University of Derby), PGCE (University of Greenwich), FHEA (University of West London), MA Photography (University of Brighton), MPhil Photography (University of Brighton)

Teaching

My work explores the aesthetic representation of memory and forgetting through the use of photographic and other visual metaphors. It reflects upon the processes of loss, forgetting and erasure in relation to the hastening structures of temporality that have accompanied the rise of modernity. I work mainly within the genres of landscape and still life. My recent work examines the book, the sea, and the materiality of the photograph and photographic processes, as metaphoric and material repositories of memory.

Research

  • Research and publications

    Journal articles

    Bennett, P. (2016) Going Away: A Photographic Representation of the Coast as a Remembered Place of Childhood Experience. New Vistas, Volume 2, Issue 2.

    Bennett, P. (2013) Going Away. Photographies, Volume 6, Issue 2: 309-323.

    Izinger, K. (2013) Fifth International Artists’ Book Exhibition (catalogue), King St. Stephen Museum, Hungary ISBN 978-963-9279-97-1. 51.

    Bennett, P. (2013) The Voyage: A New Perspective on Disintegrating Books. Research News, University of Brighton (Edition 30): 21-22.

    Bennett, P. (2013) The Voyage. Photomonitor – online magazine (August edition).

    Bennett, P. (2013) Blow Photo Magazine (Issue 6) – editorial winner.

    Bennett, P. (2012) Voyage. Orta Format - online magazine. http://ortaformat.org/articles/09-voyage/.

    Bennett, P. (2012) Photoworks Magazine www.photoworks.org.uk/magazine/showcase.

    Bennett, P. (2010) Ruby Mag #49 - online magazine, Argentina.

    Artist’s books

    Maufe, I, Rangsch, R, et al (2014) Voyage Boxed – hand-made artists’ collaborative book. Edition 50.

    Bennett, P. (2012) The Voyage – hand-made artist’s book. Edition 10.

    Bennett, P. (2012) Going Away – hand-made artist’s book. Edition 20.

    Exhibitions

    The Photobook Show, Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Greece, Jun 2016 – Jul 2016.

    Ebb and Flow (curated online artist’s book exhibition), www.weloveyourbooks.com, Aug 2015.

    The Photobook Show, Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Greece, Jun 2015 – 31 Jul 2015.

    The Flat File - Wall Space Gallery Santa Barbara/ Seattle http://ws-flatfile.com/2014/01/09/peter-bennett-the-voyage, 2014.

    Unfold, London Design Festival, London Print Studio, London, UK, 14 – 22 Sep 2013.

    Borders & Crossings: The Book Artist as Explorer, Impact 8 International Printmaking Conference, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, UK, 28 Aug – 01 Sep 2013.

    4th Sheffield International Artist’s Book Exhibition, Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, UK, 05 Oct – 30 Nov 2013.

    Kaleid 2013 London, The Art Academy, London, UK, 20 Jul 2013.

    Surface Exposure, University of Brighton Gallery, UK, 16 – 25 Jul 2013.

    Fifth International Artist Book Exhibition, King St. Stephen Museum, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, May – Oct 2013.

    E Book Show, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, UK, 02 Feb – 02 Mar 2013.

    Voyage: Sea Journeys, Island Hopping & Trans-oceanic Concepts, Das Kuenstlerhaus Dortmund, Germany, 08 Feb – 17 Mar 2013.

    Then touring: Turn the Page Book Fair, Norwich, UK, 2014; Bergen Bibliotek, Norway, 2014; University of Oxford, UK, 2014; Herhúsið, Iceland, 2015, Kaleid 2015 London, UK, 2015.

    Cos x Frieze Art Fair, Stratford Westfield Centre, London, UK, 10 Oct – 07 Nov 2012.

    Beyond Dickens, The First Floor Gallery, Southsea, UK, 08 Oct – 02 Nov 2012.

    Transience, Galerie Huit, Penang, Malaysia, 12 Jan – 11 Feb 2012.

    Archisle - Jersey Contemporary Photography Programme, Open Photography Exhibition, Société Jersiaise, Jersey, UK, 17 Dec 2011 – 31 Jan 2012.

    Mnemosyne, Menier Gallery, London, UK, 12 – 17 Dec 2011.

    Going Away (solo show), Silverprint, London, UK, 02 Nov – 31 Dec 2011.

    Reflections on the Museum of Broken Relationships (solo show), Seven Dials Club - Tristan Bates Theatre/ Museum of Broken Relationships (Zagreb), London, UK, 27 Aug – 04 Sep 2011.

    3rd Sheffield International Artist’s Book Exhibition, Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, UK, 11 Oct – 05 Nov 2011.

    Picturing Time, Worshipful Company of Clockmaker’s Competition,

    Sotheby’s Colonnade Gallery, London, UK, 29 Jul – 05 Aug 2011

    Then: Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, 10 – 12 Nov 2011.

    Transience, Galerie Huit Photography Open Salon 2011, Les Rencontres d’Arles Photography Festival, Arles, France, 04 Jul – 18 Sep 2011.

    UKX10, AvenueL Gallery, Seoul, South Korea, 23 – 30 Nov 2010.

    Historia, University of Brighton Gallery, UK, 11 – 17 Sep 2010

    Then: Host Gallery, London, UK, 27 Oct – 10 Nov 2010.

  • Conferences

    4-5 November 2016 - Urban Encounters Conference, A Construction of Place in Time. Invited Speaker, Tate/Goldsmiths.

    13 Oct 2012 - Brighton Photo Fringe. The Voyage: Photography and the Aesthetics of Memory, Brighton Arts Forum.

    04 – 06 Jul 2012 – Water: Image International Conference, Research Group for Land/Water and the Visual Arts. Going Away: the Coast as a Remembered Place, Plymouth University.

    24 Jun 2012 - Arena: Photographers from the South. Going Away: the Coast as a Remembered Place, UK.

    02 Jun 2010 – Public Lives, Private Lives: Research Across the Disciplines Postgraduate Conference. Robert Frank’s Later Work: Stories of Displacement/ Layers of Time and Place, University of Brighton.

Courses taught on