29 September – 30 November 2016
Open daily 10am – 5pm on The pier head on Hastings Pier, Hastings
Free Admisssion
Free pinhole camera workshops on Saturday 1 and Sunday 9 October
PhotoCredit : Hastings Pier, East Sussex, 2011 from the series Pierdom © Simon Roberts / courtesy Flowers Gallery, London & New York
‘Pierdom’ by Simon Roberts, is an open air photography exhibition. The show consisting of twelve images from Simon Robert’s series entitled, ‘Pierdom’, is shown in collaboration with Photohastings and the Pier Hub Charity.
At the turn of the 20th century the British coastline boasted over 100 pleasure piers. Now only 58 survive. Simon Roberts spent three years photographing them, culminating in a fascinating record of these monuments of Victorian engineering and eccentricity. The diversity of pleasure piers is striking in these photographs, from the gaudy lights of Blackpool to the simple wooden walkway of Clevedon. Many have a history of gradual decay or sudden catastrophe; others, such as Brighton Pier, still boast four million visitors a year. Roberts’ 4×5 inch field camera, used for the series, reflects the rapidly developing photographic technology during the Victorian era.
This presentation represents the first time ‘Pierdom’ has been exhibited on a pier.
The show will be allied to the creation of a new public archive of pier ‘iPhone’ images in a public response to selected historic snapshots from the Hastings Pier collection running concurrently with the exhibition. Information with regard to this event will be available from the ‘Pierdom Exhibition Hut’ on the pier itself throughout the exhibition period.
Roberts is based in Brighton and has exhibited widely with solo shows at the National Media Museum, Bradford, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai. In 2010 the UK Parliament selected him as the official Election Artist. For more information visit Simon Roberts’ Website.
Free Pinhole Camera Workshops for Family and Friends
Book your place to work with a professional photographer and use a pinhole camera made from a coffee tin! You will spend one hour exploring and rediscovering the Pier in photographs you’ve captured through the eye of a needle.
Saturday 1st October & Sunday 9th October
10.00–11.00 | 11.30–12.30 | 13.30–14.30
1 booking = 1 camera & 3–5 photographs.
There will be 10 bookings per session, with up to 4 people per booking.
To book please contact Yaz Norris.
Email : yaz.norris@hpcharity.co.uk | Phone: 01424 445566 | Website: www.hastingspier.org.uk