In Focus: Scottish Photography

The exhibition opens on the 7^th July, showcasing over 50 artworks from the City Art Centre’s photographic collections, many of which will be displayed for the first time. Scotland, and Edinburgh especially, has played a central role in the history of fine art photography since the mid 19^th century. The pioneering work of Edinburgh duo David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson helped to lay the foundations of this art form in the 1840s, inspiring subsequent generations to explore both its documentary potential and aesthetic possibilities.

In Focus: Scottish Photography showcases the City Art Centre’s photographic collections, charting the development of fine art photography in Scotland from the 19^th century to present day. The exhibition features work by a range of historic and contemporary artists, including Hill and Adamson, Thomas Begbie, Joseph McKenzie, David Williams, Maud Sulter, Wendy McMurdo, Calum Colvin, Christine Borland and Dalziel + Scullion.

The project is part of a series of collection-based exhibitions which have been taking place on the Lower Ground Floor of the City Art Centre, which is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, since its redevelopment in 2014. These exhibitions showcase different aspects of the Fine Art collection exploring a variety of time periods, artistic media and subject areas. It also features as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival 18 which begins on 26^th July 2018. There will also be a number of associated events focusing on photography skills and the history of the discipline, including lectures by artist Erik Petrie and International Photography Curator for the National Galleries of Scotland, Anne Lyden.

Councillor Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener, said:

In an age when everyone has a camera in their pocket and can take a photograph in seconds, this display of fine art photography reminds us of the beauty and skill of a perfect shot.

Curator Dr Helen Scott said,

The City Art Centre holds a rich and diverse group of photographic works as part of its wider Fine Art collection. This includes work by some of the leading names in the history of Scottish photography, as well as artists who have distinguished themselves through this medium in more recent years. The exhibition covers a wide array of subject-matter, from portraits and landscapes to still life assemblages and conceptual themes. It also explores some of the different photographic techniques that artists have used to create their images. In many ways the exhibition is a celebration of the versatility of Scottish photography, and a testament to the combined power of scientific technology and the human imagination.