Life Thru a Lens – as well as the name of that “classic” Robbie Williams album – is a new photography exhibition by visually impaired Essex-based artist Ian Treherne.
Suffering from a rare genetic condition called Usher’s Syndrome, Teherne has no peripheral vision. Instead he relies on “pointing the camera in the general direction of the action and snaps away liberally hoping to capture the essence of what is going on”.
The result? Highly contrasted monochrome landscapes and portraits that resonate 1960s fashion and portraiture.
The space will also be hosting workshops in the cafe area by craftswoman Halina Hawkswell. Losing sight in one eye, Halina was unsure if she would be able to continue – and now happily shares her skills and knowledge, as well as raising awareness about working with good light and equipment to prevent damaging your eyes.
When you visit, it’s worth spending a moment contemplating the Kentish Town Health Centre. A work of art in itself, it was built in 2008 by architects Allford Hall Monoghan Morris, who took inspiration from the game Jenga to “create interlocking external and internal spaces”.
The fun space houses GP practise James Wigg as well alongside a library and meeting rooms, complete with a street running through the length of the building. The architects called on the genius of East London designer Morag Myerscough to create the colourful super graphics inside.
We like, in fact, love this building. It’s almost enough to make us want to switch GP practise.
In the meantime? We’ll just go and soak up Treherne’s photography there.
1 thought on “Catch Ian Treherne at Free Space Gallery, Kentish Town Health Centre”
Great doctors too