We Are Open

Pistol and Fur: New Contemporaries
We Are Open Interview
06/08/2010

No less than two months ago, 148 Linthorpe Road was an empty, disused retail unit. It was home to nothing, and stood for weeks collecting dust with locked doors and closed shutters. In the gap between then and now, the team behind We Are Open acquired the space, worked a little bit of magic, and soon enough it became the project’s Pop Up Gallery.

Currently housed in the three-storey unit is an exhibition by international photography collective Pistol and Fur. ‘New Contemporaries’ displays selected images from a Flickr pool started up by group leaders Jason Hynes and Steven Brown. I had a chance to catch up with the collaborators for an interesting insight into P&F.

We Are Open: For somebody who has not heard about the current exhibition, how would you describe the pieces on display, the aesthetic behind them, and P&F itself?

Jason Hynes: The work in New Contemporaries, as I see it, is about expression, whether it be in the way people view themselves their surroundings, beliefs, feelings, anything at all. The work is born out of the snapshot aesthetic, what Henri Cartier Bresson called "immediate sketch". Pistol & Fur is a group I formed on flickr over a year ago, I edit the submissions from photographers around the world each week and add those which I feel lend themselves to the groups aesthetic. In other words Pistol & Fur is something that in essence is purely selfish but hopefully inspires those who view or take part in the group.

WAO: Recently in the gallery you carried out a project involving disposable cameras; photographs of which are now displayed in the shop window. Can you elaborate upon what this project entailed and how you feel about the results?

Steven Brown: Running workshops was part of our project so in order to reach a wider audience we decided to have open days for the public. We advertised for people to pop into the gallery, talk with us about the work on display to get feel for the style of photography we were looking for and then take away a free disposable camera to shoot whatever they desired. They would bring it back, we would develop it for free, have a editing session to give people experience in the editing process and then select the best from the roll of film to go on display in our window.

I thought the results were amazing. I realised there are a lot of talented people in Middlesbrough with a great eye. There was an eclectic mix of images with some beautiful compositions. I think the photographs in the New Contemporaries exhibition really helped people looks at things in a different way.

We named the project 'The People's Gallery' and passers by would stop in their tracks to look closer at the photographs on display. We had a lot of positive feedback about the project. It was a really great experience.

WAO: As your residence in the space is only temporary, what will become of the framed prints on display when the time comes to pack up and leave?

SB: It wasn't our intention to sell the images as part of the exhibition but as we like to keep the fresh and the images need a home, we have decided to auction them off to the public. All the proceeds will go to the charity bullying UK.

WAO: What benefits has the residence brought to P&F and yourselves?

JH: Pistol & Fur has gained new members, over 100 since we started the residency and has helped raise the profile of the group. As for me it has helped me gain relationships with photographers and the public and has inspired me to try new ventures in the future

WAO: Jason and Steven, thanks for your time. Are there any future projects or plans for P&F in the near future?

JH: Pistol & Fur will continue for the foreseeable future as a blog and flickr group.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/pistolandfur/ - Pistol and Fur on Flickr

http://www.jasonhynes.co.uk – Jason Hynes’ Website

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56385524@N00/ - Steven Brown on Flickr

Interview by Matthew Neil