'Wet Feet' a photographic exhibition by Bernard Webb

About

The Naked Eye Gallery are delighted to be hosting an atmospheric, heartfelt exhibition by lifelong photographer Bernard Webb.  The photographs in his exhibition ‘Wet Feet’ captures unrepeatable moments on the shores of Brighton and Hove and with them, he invites the viewer to experience the one off, isolated moment that he has meticulously caught.  This particular exhibition is a unique documentation of his reintroduction to life in the UK and represents nature in all it’s states, from the placid to the tempest.  With these truly extraordinary photographs, he offers viewers the chance to alter their way of viewing and experiencing the world around us, and depicts Brighton and Hove in a way which you are unlikely to have seen before.  

Bernard is a lifelong photographer and attributes his skills to having both patience and a natural eye for capturing distinctive moments in time which many people miss whilst they continue on in their busy lives.  He established himself as a photographer in Florida, before honing his skills in the romantic city of Paris.  During his time in Paris, he was fortunate enough to follow in the footsteps of some of the leading photographic pioneers such as Eugene Atchet and Cartier Bresson, and maintains that they have influenced his work significantly.  On his return to England, he describes experiencing a ‘cultural shock’ which became a key feature in his work whilst he resided in Lincolnshire.  During this time, he mainly shot weary subjects, peeling paint and lots of closed doors.  On his arrival to Brighton, his work changed significantly, the subjects were bigger, the expanses wider, and he felt able to breathe again.  

Bernard believes that his creative photography is a lifelong learning process.  In his early photographic days his main focus was to document the world around him, and over time he progressed, almost unconsciously to take pictures of what he was experiencing, not just visually but internally.  He is still continuing with this discovery.  This learning process is a task which he believes has made him see deeper, clearer and has assisted him in becoming more observant and aware and is a theme to the work in this exhibition.