Just because something is broken doesn’t mean it is not beautiful. The pub is a symbol of Britain. It provides us with a sense of place, of community and best if all a welcoming place in which to enjoy a pint. The series ‘Last orders at the Bar’ documents the loss of the traditional British pub. Each image presents us with a once thriving hub of the community, now empty and alone. Whether nestled within a busy street, or hidden away within a forgotten rural setting; amongst the demolition and dereliction lays architectural gems sodden with memories of times past. Each image pertains to a lost charm ravaged by twenty-first century life. On one level this exhibition is emphasising the juxtaposition of the ‘ordinary’ and the ‘everyday’ through the filter of Etchells’ creative lens. The decline of the traditional pub refers back to a bygone era.
Is it the loss of a mundane place that concerns us or is it simply our nostalgia for such places? Implicit within these images is a temporal sense of narrative history: Someone somewhere will have an experience, a memory, or a story to tell about the time spent in one of these pubs.
These photographs act not as an obituary for the British public house, but as a petition against their decline as well as a testament to a different epoch.
Chris Etchells was born in New Mills, Derbyshire in 1979. He qualified as a press photographer in 1997 and has lived and worked in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire for the last 12 years.
www.chrisetchells.co.uk
Red Gate Gallery is a non-for-profit organisation that is dedicated to the continuous exposure of contemporary and diverse Art forms. It encompasses artists’ studios, a large gallery space suitable for installations, film projections, music performances, live gigs and exhibitions. Red Gate is located within a busy environment between Brixton & Camberwell. The gallery hosts regular events, exploring strands of thought provoking art. Since 1998 it has hosted over 520 events and exhibitions.
Private View: Friday 9th of July 2010 – 6.00 pm to 11.00 pm
Exhibition runs from: Friday 9th of July 2010 – Thursday 15th of July 2010
Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri: 11.00 am to 6.30 pm
Sat: 12.30 pm – 5.00 pm
Last day of Exhibition: Thurs 15th of July: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
Red Gate Gallery
209a Coldharbour Lane
London SW9 8RU
