Wish You Were Here?
HELEN MURPHY & NICK PELLING
There is something both alluring and rather sad about the English seaside. Somehow the seaside is full of the promise of naughtiness and fun, and yet many of the holiday seaside towns in England now feel a bit neglected and down at heel. This weird double identity is very evident in the exhibition of JJ Waller’s photography at the Hastings Museum and Art gallery, simply entitled Beside The Seaside.
A number of the photographs are clearly of Hastings and St Leonards but the exhibition also includes images Brighton, Blackpool and Benidorm. Nearly all of his work features ordinary people in all their mundane, wonderful strangeness. As the artist and occasional collaborator, Peter Quinnell observes, Waller’s work is shot through with a “genuine affection for his subjects”.
This is true, although just occasionally there is the feeling that people, frozen in an instant, simply are both beautiful and odd.
SILLY HATS AND MUGGERS
Despite the familiar theme, the work is actually very diverse. There are bodies of all shapes and sizes, with flesh sometimes scorching in the sun or people huddled against the winter wind. There are donkeys, silly hats, ice cream and of course the inevitable lurking muggers we call seagulls.
In the past, Waller has shown these images in conjunction with the distinctive work of Martin Parr, the photographer who is perhaps most associated with pulling out the surreal, almost grotesque nature of holidaying reality, when framed a certain way. Parr recently died and there is a touching tribute to him by Waller as part of the exhibition. He describes his fellow photographer as “a kind and generous friend” and a “photographic luminary.” The exhibition also includes one of Parr’s genuinely iconic seaside images.
The show also features a lot of three-dimensional pieces by other mainly local artists. There are too many to list here, but we were struck by the cartoonish work of Georgie Wheeler, the shell sculpture by Shuby and the doll piece by Tom Bartlett. But, there are many more, including one of those commemorative souvenir plates, with Liz Truss’s face on it. (Most of the work is for sale.)
HAVE FUN IF IT KILLS ME
A sense of humour seems to run through this exhibition, and it certainly seems fitting that Waller provides us with outsized sticks of rock. But it is humour that runs both ways. The photographs depict people doggedly determined to have a laugh, in a sort of ‘keep calm and carry on mucking about’ sort of way. And the viewer feels some of that hilarity in watching the English do their brave battle with wind and litter and the inevitable rain. But there is also much that is just sublime.
Perhaps we will never solve the puzzle of the English seaside. Why does it attract so many funsters, bohemians and outsiders and yet feel forgotten? Madeline Bunting, in her recent book The Seaside, has a lot to say about why so many of our coastal towns are very poor. The book, published in 2023, stated that Hastings “is still amongst the most deprived in the South East.” Almost certainly this is still the case. But something about this exhibition reveals the curious affection that so many have for this town. The old cliche about there being ‘something in the air’ positively swirls around these pictures. Bunting suggested that “Part of being English is an emotional tie to the seaside.” If you want to get a sense of our strange love-hate affair with the seaside, this exhibition has all the pathos and tacky glamour that you could ever fit on a naughty postcard.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply