From Jamaica Row – Rebirth of the Bullring
On Wednesday (22 April 2009) I attended a private reception of an exhibition of photos by Pogus Caesar. From Jamaica Row – Rebirth of the Bullring is a selection of 15 limited prints of photographical portrayal of the destruction of the 1960’s Bullring to day before of the opening of the new iconic landmark of today.
After an introduction from Roger Shannon, Pogus said a few words about why he took it upon himself, without funding, to document this historic event for Birmingham over the couple of years it took to reconstruct. He remembers with fondness, like me, shopping trips with his mother and spotlessly cleaning the stairs at his home, so he could hang out at the Bull Ring, presumable with his mates (not like me). Sharing this, brought memories of my childhood and I reflected on my own relationship with Birmingham.
We have to thank Pogus for recording this transformation, as nobody else thought it important enough to do so, which even though the old bullring, too some, wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing, it was still a part of Birmingham’s history and should be acknowledged, at the very least as being that. I hope that some of our 1960’s buildings do remain, as they are equally important to Birmingham’s history, than the admired Victorian and Georgian buildings of Colmore Row etc.
Lets hope the bulldozers don’t flatten all the iconic 60’s buildings in Birmingham!
Not only did I meet the man himself, Pogus, but I meet some other very interesting people, two of which, Gary Hoctor and James Fair from hellocamera are looking into setting up a film festival in rural Ireland. Having just completed an assignment for my MA, looking into an International Film Festival for Birmingham, it was interesting to discuss this and offer a copy to them in helping with their project. As I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs networking is a key element in success. Somebody said, and I can’t right now remember who, said, ‘Your net worth is your the worth of your network’ or something like that!
The exhibition is on until 30th April 2009 at Kinetic AIU Studio, The Factory, 108 Northwood Street, Birmingham B3 1TH and is by appointment only. Catherine Fudge at Kinetic AIU, T: 0121 212 3424, E: cf@kinetic-aiu.com
Sponsors are ERCO, Kinetic AIU, OOM Gallery, Swish, Barefoot Wines
For more information please visit: http://www.birminghamlifemagazine.co.uk/features-capturing-history-in-the-making–91982
http://www.oomgallery.net/gallery.asp?location=1&c=5479
Enterprise | raijenkins | Friday, April 24, 2009
Pogus’s pictures capture a part of the city in transition. As a documentarian, in this exhibition he explores the urban fabric as it is ripped apart and then unwrapped, almost like a boiled sweet. The other exhibition by him – currently at Fazeley St Studios, MUZIK KINDA SWEET – until end of April documents the role of Birmingham as a centre of black music, showcasing and producing reggae, soul and r n b, in many different contexts.
Hi Rai! Back in Ireland now. Great meeting you the other night. Looking forward to reading your research! Thanks again for all your help.
The memories of the old Bullring will always stay with me, it was important to document the rapidly changing face of this iconic landmark. The next phase of the exhibition is to provide a permanent venue so the 500 archive images can be shared with the people of Birmingham and provide a historical reference for future generations. Many thanks to all the people who visited the show and to Kinetic AIU, OOM Gallery, swish, Erco and Barefoot Wine for their sponsorship of From Jamaica Row – Rebirth of the Bullring.
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I admire Caesar’s determination in photographing the Bullring for 3 years, here he talks about the reason why.
Birmingham photographer Pogus Caesar talking to Richard Lutz about his latest exhibition, his days filming the Bullring under construction and how his snapper-career all started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBtL1eLSkcY
nice in depth interview.