COLoURBLAST : Mervyn Diese

About

Returning to his roots photographing daily life in London’s East end, an activity he began in the 1980s using 35mm SLR cameras, Mervyn Diese examines the same territory through the lens of his mobile phone.

Screening event : Saturday 15th from 7.30

‘So . . . in this show i am returning to my roots. Back in the 80’s I took a lot of photographs and used to travel most places with two 35mm SLR cameras recording much of what I discovered in my home city. I tried to improve on this by going to Polytechnic to get a qualification and studied under the watchful eye of a photographer named Ed Barber who had made his name taking portraits of the women of the peace camp at Greenham Common. But because of the way the course was structured what it succeeded in doing was stopping me taking photographs out of frustration, and started me painting. I left Polytechnic without finishing the course, got a job in advertising and learnt more there working as a commercial artist than I would have at any college. Roll forwards a couple of decades and I have almost come full circle. Advances in tech means that everyone now has a camera in their pocket thanks to their phone. So many moments are no longer missed and we as a people are documenting more than ever. This project is about that and trying to do something interesting with it’ - Mervyn Diese, August 2016

Photomonth Festival 2016