FORMAT International Photography Festival returns this March, transforming the city of Derby into a vibrant showcase of the best photography and lens-based media that represent the theme of ‘CONFLICTED’.
There will be two FORMAT exhibitions held at the Museum of Making this year:
John Blakemore: Earthly Delights
Widely regarded as a master of darkroom photography, John Blakemore is celebrated for the richness and textures that he created within his prints. Using a technical harmony of the 5×4 film medium, the Zone System and an incredible mastery of the darkroom printing process, he shaped a signature tonal richness and opulence within his photography worthy of the title.
Using nature as his muse, John captured landscapes inspired by texture and space that can be appreciated by audiences regardless of their knowledge of the skill behind the printing.In 2024, Derby Museums accessioned 12 photographic prints of John’s into the collection of the city he had called home for over 50 years, bringing together prints from a range of projects including his iconic tulips and his Derbyshire and Wales landscapes. This new collection brings together a life’s dedication to technical skill, analogue practice and celebrating the natural world around us.
It encourages us once more to witness that age old conflict between the decisive moment of the photograph and the flowing of time. It asks us to rediscover the joy of the thoughtful and meditative processes of analogue at a time where digital is monarch. Most of all, it is a swansong to the brilliance of John Blakemore, a man of endless inspiration, wit and skill.
About John Blakemore:
Born in Coventry in 1936, Blakemore discovered a passion for photography whilst on National Service in Libya in the 1950’s. Inspired by Edward Steichen’s Family of Man and childhood experience of wartime Britain, he set to learning darkroom skills in the military camp he was based in.
Blakemore moved to Derby in the 1970’s to lecture at the University of Derby, inspiring generations of photographers through his skills, knowledge and wit. He instilled a passion for darkroom techniques still found there today.
John Blakemore’s work has been exhibited world-wide and published in books including John Blakemore’s Black and White Photography Workshop and Inscape. He has been the recipient of the prestigious Fox Talbot Award of Photography, is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and an Emeritus Professor of the University of Derby.
Thero Makepe: We didn’t choose to be born here.
Image: Chaos, 2021 © Thero Makepe
Thero Makepe is the British Journal of Photography Award Winner for FORMAT25.
The body of work is an exploration of Botswana and South Africa’s socio-political fabric through a personal lens. Blending staged portraiture, documentary images and re-enactments, Makepe weave’s personal family stories with national history. The images are part of a photobook that addresses the history of musicality and activism within Makepe’s family lineage.
Makepe’s project focuses on the dilemma of personal responsibility in times of crisis. As an individual, do you fight for something greater for yourself in a collective struggle, or do you try to achieve the best for yourself? Furthermore, how does one deal with the reality of the world and personal circumstances they were born into? How does one’s social class influence their ideology and aspirations? Makepe uses his family as a conduit to unpack these questions in his book project.
Makepe’s work is collaborative with his family as they share their experiences, stories and memories, and he then interprets them as an artist. Makepe retraces their steps and produces documentary or post-documentary photographs of the places they have been or creates staged re-enactments where different family members, including himself, perform as past family members. Therefore, his family always has a heavy hand in curating themselves as they are photographed and what archival material is left out of this project.
About Thero Makepe:
“I am an artist born and raised in Gaborone, Botswana. I currently work between Gaborone, Cape Town and Johannesburg. I completed my Bachelor of Fine Art with distinction at the University of Cape Town, majoring in photography.
Currently focused on photography, my practice reflects on the personal and societal narratives of my upbringing in Botswana and South Africa. My approach to photography also employs a variety of photographic styles, such as staged portraiture, documentary, and re-enactments.”
FREE exhibition. Suitable for all.
FORMAT International Photography Festival is organised by and is a partnership between QUAD and the University of Derby. QUAD is funded and supported by Arts Council England and Derby City Council, with additional support from a range of national and international partners.
Header image: Ambergate, Derbyshire, from Lila, 1978 © John Blakemore.
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