Menie residents in Foto8 Summershow
My portrait of Mike & Sheila Forbes shall be exhibitied at the Foto8 Summershow opening at HOST Gallery, London tonight.
I spent the summer of 2010 collaborating with residents of the Menie estate, an area of outstanding natural beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) situated 20 minutes north of Aberdeen.
The residents’ homes are under threat of compulsory purchase as Donald Trump International starts construction of a golf course, hotel, and housing development with plans to re-name Menie ‘The Great Dunes of Scotland’.
The portrait of Mike & Sheila references ‘American Gothic’ by Grant Wood this was chosen in collaboration with the couple as a nod to the American Developer but also functions as a way to include their farmhouse which was widely described by Mr Trump as a ‘slum like property’. To see what both men have to say watch STV News
To see the series ‘Menie: a portrait of a North East community in conflict’ please visit my website . Here you can read statements by all of the Menie residents. The site as a whole is still under construction but the Menie project is there
The Foto8 Summershow runs from 8 July – 12 August.
The judges for this year’s show are:
Richard Billingham, Photographer
Emma Morris, Director: Photoworks J
ames Reid, Director of Photography: Wallpaper
Charlotte Cotton, Creative Director: National Media Museum Bradford
