Joachim Brohm: Places & Edges, Brancolini Grimaldi - exhibition review
A burning car in a residential American street was a “decisive moment” shot by a young German photographer, Joachim Brohm. Titled On Fire, it became part of the series Ohio, 1983-4, and like his preceding project, set in Germany, Ruhr, 1980-3, was committed to colour in an era dominated by monochrome. The influence of William Egglestone was obvious.
Ohio is a classic American street story, emphasising cars and the chaos of signs in Market. In contrast, Ruhr is in post-industrial transition and depicted through almost rural scenes with picnics and boating but history is preserved in abandoned factories and junk yards.
Ruhr’s slightly paled colours contrast with the contemporary edge of Brohm’s recent project, Culatra, 2008-10. Set on the small Portuguese island known for its beaches, it exposes broken shacks and abandoned vehicles, pushes colour tones, and fills the screen with solitary items such as tractors and boats. The presentation of diagonals across the scene exploits the unlikely including electric wires and poles supporting walls.
The exhibition’s contemporary feel raises memories of Egglestone and celebrates Brohm’s dedication to the stories behind seemingly ordinary situations in this fabulous collection.
Until May 11 (020 7493 5721, brancolinigrimaldi.com).
