CreativeUEA has paired up with Great Yarmouth artist-led organisations Original Projects and Utter Nonsense to present a new show at the University of East Anglia.
Ricking the Reed, by Peter Henry Emerson, from Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1887. Part of Finding Emerson, the photography exhibition on display at the University of East Anglia (Image: Peter Henry Emerson)
Artists and curators Kaavous Clayton and Julia Devonshire worked alongside photographer Mark Cator at the 2021 Finding Emerson Photo Festival, during which residents and visitors of the Great Yarmouth were invited to document a portrait of the town. The result is a crowd-sourced image of a place.
Girl Racer, Yarmouth Seafront, taken by Edmund Aves, part of Finding Emerson, the photography exhibition on display at the University of East Anglia (Image: Edmund Aves)
Peter Henry Emerson was a pioneering Victorian photographer and naturalist, extensively documenting East Anglia.
Winners of the competition are displayed alongside Emerson's work at the show.
Taking Up the Eel Net, by Peter Henry Emerson, from Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1887. Part of Finding Emerson, the photography exhibition on display at the University of East Anglia (Image: Peter Henry Emerson)
Kaavous Clayton and Julia Devonshire live in Great Yarmouth and have been involved with arts projects across the region for over 20 years. Kaavous says: "We find it really inspiring. So many different things happening here - it is a place of real extremes, it is quite exciting."
Kaavous Clayton talks of the show, saying: "It highlights the importance of photography and how it can be used as a tool to reflect society and create social history.
"The idea of the competition was to use Emerson as inspiration to invite people to respond to Great Yarmouth.
"Seeing a portrait of a place can make people see the beauty in things. The images are about beauty and honesty and reality, removing preconceptions."
Hemsby, Great Yarmouth, 2020, taken by Bill Lytton, part of Finding Emerson, the photography exhibition on display at the University of East Anglia (Image: Bill Lytton)
Students at the university are responding to the show with written prose after curators hoped the show would inspire.
Finding Emerson is on show until December 14 at the Enterprise Centre on the UEA campus.
The Old Order and the New, by Peter Henry Emerson, from Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1887. Part of Finding Emerson, the photography exhibition on display at the University of East Anglia (Image: Peter Henry Emerson)
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