Aye up

Hello and welcome to my photography blog.
I’m a documentary photographer from Manchester  in the UK.
You can see my work at my website: www.dunni.co.uk
There’s a short film or three here on vimeo, or see my project about cctv on it’s flickrstream: www.flickr.com/photos/ddtv
Or get the free pdf magazine that goes with it by clicking here.

Don’t lecture me

Very pleased (and a wee bit nervous) to be giving a talk about my cctv project to the MA and BA photography students at Nottingham Trent Univerity on Wednesday 2 December from 11 to 1pm in the Djanogly Lecture Theatre at the illustrious University of Nottingham.  It’s cheap (well free) open to the public and ties in with the exhibition:
No Visible Means of Escape at Nottingham Castle.

Dada united

Marcel Marceau was arguably the finest goalkeeper/mime of the modern game and possibly the player who began domestic teams’ reliance on foreign talent. When confronted with Marceau miming an invisible wall across the goal mouth, even the most determined centre forward would give up the ball and throw themselves to the floor with a cry of “sacre bleu!” knowing that their mightiest kick could not penetrate Marceau’s reinforced glass goalmouth. Actually I always thought he was shite, but he remains my first choice for the Dada United Number Un shirt.
(I really should get out soon and take some photographs)

Iconoclasts-2 Manchester City–0

Went to see two iconoclasts yesterday. Salford Museum and Art Gallery and the Working Class Movement Library are holding a small exhibition Thomas Paine: Voice of the Common People until 22 November. Paine played an important part in the French and American revolutions and wrote some of the most important books of the past 200 years – his words such as “We have it in our power to begin the world over again” are still as readable and inspiring as ever.
The evening was spent in the company of The Fall who continue to inspire and infuriate in equal measure – but any band whose keyboard player takes her handbag on stage and hangs it on her synth is OK by me (ooooh yes and I bought some green socks for the occasion as well).

Whose country?

I’ve seen Steve McQueen’s ‘Queen and Country’ at a couple of different venues – if you’ve not, it’s the sheets of replica postage stamps depicting British soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. The Turner prize winning artist is campaigning with the families of the dead soldiers to have the Royal Mail issue them as real stamps. McQueen went to Iraq as an official war artist and has kept his support or opposition to the war to himself. I have a bit of a problem with the ambivalence of the piece, and so am not surprised that papers like the Telegraph and the Mail seem to like it. I haven’t been to Iraq and haven’t kept my opposition to the war to myself. So here then, on Remembrance Sunday, is my stamp ‘Whose Country’. From me ripping off one piece of remembrance related art to another I wish I’d thought of, Jonty Semper, did a double album in 2001 called Kenotaphion (“empty tomb”) which featured all the surviving recordings of the two minute silences at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day.

Strange objects of desire #1

When I was a lad, learning to get pissed involved trying mild/bitter/brown ale etc. until you found something that didn’t make you vomit. Kids of today are spoilt and have alcopops. However I was pleased to discover a nod to tradition in the form of dandelion and burdock flavoured vodka. If that alone was not sophisticated enough, the bottle assures the discerning palette a continental blend of fruit flavours – so  then – that’s sophistication that contributes to your 5-a-day. Genius.

A wet weekend in Bradford

And so to god’s own county to spend a weekend at Impressions Gallery and their Photo Book Weekend. Sunday featured Mishka Henner and Liz Lock which gives me the opportunity to mention a new venture they’re involved in: BlackLab: Adventures in Still Pictures to which I commend you. P.S. I don’t know if Paula has come back yet – but I think he means it. 

For the lazy amongst you

If you can’t get to Central Library to see my exhibition, you might catch the video version on the BBC Big Screen in Exchange Square, where it’s showing from tonight for 2 or 3 weeks. If you’re congenitally lazy (or don’t have the good fortune to live in Mancunia) you can see the video version on your computer screen by clicking here. And you won’t have to pay your license fee for the pleasure.
Now about this picture (which is in the exhibition) I didn’t notice at the time it featured a cctv camera – it’s (probably) the only photo in this set that does.

Exhibitionist

During October you can see some of my architectural photos of modern, iconic, Mancunian buildings displayed in one of Mancunia’s modern, iconic, buildings – Central Library. Not my usual thing at all. They’re displayed outside the local studies unit on the first floor and I spent today putting them all up – and then watching most of them fall down. Hmmmmn the perils of furry display boards – I’m off to buy some of the stuff they use to stick shit to blankets and will hopefully have them up soon. Which reminds me why I was never a very good gallery attendant.

On one

Today marks one year of this blog – according to Len Grant, the average blog lasts three months, so I’m definitely (or is that defiantly?) living on borrowed time. So thank you to  you and we’ll see if we las another year (or month).

Just doing a bit of shopping

As I’ve just started reading Ground Control by Anna Minton, this invite to a flashmob caught my jaded little eye.
More info here. If you won’t be in London (me neither) you could always do something in your local retail experience – after all they’re all the same – I’ll meet you in Starbucks;-)