John Darwell (born 1955) is a British photographer.
Life and career
Darwell was born in
Bolton, Lancashire,
[Stephen Clarke,]
John Darwell: DDSBs (Discarded Dog Sh*t Bags)
, Redeye, 27 August 2013. in 1955. He has a BA in photography from
Manchester Polytechnic, and a PhD from the
University of Sunderland. (His thesis was titled ''A Black Dog Came Calling: A Visualisation of Depression through Contemporary Photography''.)
[John Darwell]
, Land2, University of Leeds. He is a
Reader in photography at the
University of Cumbria.
As a photographer, Darwell "roots himself in neglected landscapes".
His early work, published in ''Working Lives'' and ''The Big Ditch'', was in black and white, but he moved to colour soon thereafter and has not used black and white since.
''Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock'' (published in 1993) shows the Liverpool docklands at a time when "the amount of cargo passing through the docks" was higher than ever before, but when, thanks to mechanization, everything was run by fewer than 600 men, down from over 20,000.
For three weeks in late 1999, Darwell photographed within the
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone:
Pripyat, numerous villages, a landfill site, and people continuing to live within the Zone. This resulted in an exhibition and book titled ''Legacy''.
The first pyre intended to check the
British outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in early 2001 took place very close to Darwell's house in Cumbria. Darwell devoted a year to photographing this and its aftermath; the resulting book, ''Dark Days'', "catalogues the destruction that consumed local farming communities and shut Cumbria off from the outside world".
''DDSBs: Discarded Dog Sh*t Bags'' shows "a typology of discarded plastic bags containing dog muck", photographs Darwell presents "as evidence of our half-hearted commitment to the ecological cause".
Books by Darwell
*''Working Lives.'' Stockport, Ches.: Stockport Museums and Gallery Service, 1986. . With a foreword by John Baker, an introduction by Frank Galvin, and additional photographs from the Stockport Museum archive.
*''The Big Ditch: The Manchester Ship Canal Seen through the Camera of John Darwell.'' Chorley, Lancs: Countryside Publications, 1987. . Photographs of the
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
.
*''Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock.'' Manchester:
Cornerhouse, 1993. . Photographs of the
Port of Liverpool.
*''Legacy: Photographs inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.'' Stockport:
Dewi Lewis, 2001. .
[Dewi Lewis's page about the two books by John Darwell it has published i]
here
.
*''Dark Days.'' Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2007. . With essays by Liz Wells, Roger Breeze, David Black and Alison Nordström.
*''Committed to Memory.'' Carlisle, Cumbria:
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, 2007. . With an introduction by Paul Herrmann and an essay by Simon Grennan.
*''DDSBs: Discarded Dog Sh*t Bags.'' Self-published / mynewtpress, 2013. Edition of 200 copies.
[The photographer/publisher's information about this i]
here
[The book is presente]
here
by Josef Chladek. `
Booklets and zines by Darwell
*''(h)arris: Images from the Western Isles.'' Democratic Book no. 9. Cologne: Democratic Books, 2004. A PDF that is freely downloadable from the publisher's website.
[The publisher's website]
democraticbooks.org
If this is unavailable, the PDF remains available fro
here
as archived on 13 July 2006 by the Wayback Machine.
*''Sheffield: Tinsley Viaduct.'' Southport, Merseyside:
Café Royal Books, 2013.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''Sheffield: Tinsley Viaduct'' i]
here
*''Sheffield: Meadowhall, Hyde Park, Ponds Forge.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2013.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''Sheffield: Meadowhall, Hyde Park, Ponds Forge'' i]
here
.
*''Grangemouth and the Forth Estuary.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2014.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''Grangemouth and the Forth Estuary'' i]
here
*''Desert States: Photographs from New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.'' Chronicles no. 6. Part of Chronicles set 2. Taipei: The Velvet Cell, 2014.
[The Velvet Cell's page about Chronicles set 2, including ''Desert States'', was archive]
here
by the Wayback Machine on 12 July 2014.
*''Chernobyl.'' Vol 1. Chronicles no. 13. Taipei: The Velvet Cell, 2014.
[The Velvet Cell's page about Chronicles set 3, including ''Desert States'', was archive]
here
by the Wayback Machine on 23 August 2014.
*''Chernobyl.'' Vol 2. Chronicles no. 14. Taipei: The Velvet Cell, 2014.
*''Sheffield: Things Seen whilst Wandering around Attercliffe.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2014.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''Sheffield: Things Seen whilst Wandering around Attercliffe'' i]
here
*''Sheffield: The Remains of Some Buildings around the Don Valley.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2014.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''Sheffield: The Remains of Some Buildings around the Don Valley'' i]
here
*''Sheffield: In Transition.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2014.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''Sheffield in Transition'' i]
here
*''The Dark River: Bolton — Farnworth.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2015. Edition of 150 copies.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''The Dark River: Bolton — Farnworth'' i]
here
*''The Dark River: Kearsley — Clifton.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2015. Edition of 150 copies.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''The Dark River: Kearsley — Clifton'' i]
here
*''The Dark River: Kearsley Power Station.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2016. Edition of 150 copies.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''The Dark River: Kearsley Power Station'' i]
here
*''The Dark River: Clifton — Death Valley — Agecroft.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2016. Edition of 150 copies.
[Café Royal Books' page about ''The Dark River: Clifton — Death Valley — Agecroft'' i]
here
*''The Dark River: Agecroft — Salford.'' Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2016. Edition of 150 copies. Some copies are accompanied by a separate essay by Paul Herrmann, "Reflections on Dark River."
[Café Royal Books' page about ''The Dark River: Agecroft — Salford'' i]
here
Solo exhibitions
*''Cityscapes''. Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Cumbria, 1984.
*''Landscapes''. Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport, 1984.
*''Working Lives''. Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport;
Side Gallery
Side Gallery is a photography gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, run by Amber Film & Photography Collective. It opened in 1977 as Side Gallery and Cinema with a remit to show humanist photography "both by and commissioned by the group along with ...
, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1986. Bonnington Gallery, Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham, 1987.
*''The Big Ditch''. Viewpoint Gallery, Salford, Manchester, 1986.
*''Regeneration''.
Untitled Gallery, Sheffield, 1989.
*''Borderland''. Manor Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria, 1989.
*''The Big Ditch''.
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Blackburn;
Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool, 1990. Castle Park Arts Centre, Frodsham, Cheshire, 1991. Calderdale Industrial Museum, Halifax, Yorkshire; Manor Gallery, Carlisle, 1992.
Williamson Art Gallery
The Williamson Art Gallery and Museum is an art gallery and museum situated in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England and houses Wirral's art collection.
History
The art gallery and museum opened on 1 December 1928, the single-storey building is Neo-G ...
, Birkenhead, 1993.
Duncan of Jordanstone Gallery, Dundee, 1994.
*''Jimmy Jock, Albert and the Six Sided Clock.'' Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool. May–September 1993.
Fotonoviembre,
Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife
The Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife (''Photo Center Tenerife Island'') is located in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain) and was created in 1989.
Owns a studio and photo lab, conference room, a specialized library with more than 3,5 ...
, 1995.
*''Scratching the Surface''.
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, 1994.
*''Workplace''. Durham Art Gallery, Durham, 1996.
*''In Isolation''.
Euston railway station
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
escalators, London, 1996.
*''Where it all began''. Centro Colombo Americano, Medellín, Colombia, 1996.
*''By Association.'' Mill Gallery, Carlisle, 1997. Landscapes associated with nuclear testing and energy generation.
[Fission for compliments]
, ''The Independent'', 9 August 1997.
*''First and Last.'' Viewpoint Gallery, Salford, 1997. Rituals in Japan to commemorate the atomic bombs.
*''By Association.'' Folly Gallery, Lancaster; Tom Blau Gallery, London, 2001
*''Legacy''. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, 2001.
*''Consequences''.
Gallery Oldham, 2002.
*''After Schwitters – Kurt Schwitters and the Merzbarn Conference''. Cumbria, 2003.
*''h)arris''. Installation sited at 15 rail stations along
Cumbrian Coast Line, 2004.
*''A Black Dog Came Calling and Melancholy Objects''. Institute of Psychiatry Gallery,
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
. November 2005 – February 2006.
*''Committed to Memory.'' Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle. May–July 2007.
*''Working Lives.'' Stockport Art Gallery, February–March 2011. Darwell's photographs from 1985.
*''Dogs in Cages''. Look 11 International Photography Festival, ''Confined.''
The Bluecoat
Built in 1716–17 as a charity school, Bluecoat Chambers in School Lane is the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool, England. Following the Liverpool Blue Coat School's move to another site in 1906, the building was rented from 1907 ...
, Liverpool, May–July 2011.
*''After Schwitters''.
Hatton Gallery, University of Newcastle. February–April 2013.
Public collections
*
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
*
King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom:
*King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge
*King's College London, a constituent of the University of London
It ca ...
/ Maudsley Hospital Trust, London
*
British Film Institute, London
*
Site Gallery, Sheffield
*
National Media Museum / Sun Life Collection, Bradford
*
Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool
*
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle
*
Manchester Art Gallery
* Arts Council North West, Manchester
* Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport
* Viewpoint Gallery, Salford
*
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
*
Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife
The Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife (''Photo Center Tenerife Island'') is located in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain) and was created in 1989.
Owns a studio and photo lab, conference room, a specialized library with more than 3,5 ...
, Museos de Tenerife.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwell, John
Photographers from Cumbria
Photography in Ukraine
Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University
Alumni of the University of Sunderland
Academics of the University of Cumbria
Living people
1955 births
People from Bolton