David Solomons (photographer) explained

David Solomons (born 31 December 1965) is a British street photographer. He is known for his photographs in London,^{[1] [2] [3]} where he has made a trilogy of self-published books: Underground (2009), Up West (2015) and Kippers and Curtains (2018). He was a member of the In-Public street photography collective.

Up West was shown in a solo exhibition at Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff, in 2010 and his work is held in the collection of the Museum of London.

Life and work

Solomons studied documentary photography at the University of South Wales in Newport between 1993 and 1996.^{[4] [5]} During this period he changed from primarily photographing in black and white to the colour work he is mostly known for. His first major piece of work, Underground, depicting people using the London Underground, was completed during his studies in Newport but not published for fifteen years.

He was a member of the In-Public street photography collective, having joined in 2008.^[6]

Books

Books and zines by Solomons

• Underground. London: Bump, 2009. . Edition of 100 copies.
  • Underground Vol.1 & 2. London: Bump, 2021. Two volumes. With a text by Joni Karanka. Edition of 200 copies.
• Happenstance: Black and White Photographs: 1990–2007. London: Bump, 2009. . Edition of 200 copies.
• Up West. London: Bump, 2015. . With an introduction by David Gibson. Edition of 1000 copies.
• M11 Link Road Protest. Southport, Merseyside: Café Royal Books, 2016. Edition of 200 copies.^[7]
• Kippers and Curtains: London Bits and Bobs 1995 – 2018. London: Bump, 2018. .
• No Smoking. London: Bump, 2018. .
• The League of Bald Headed Men. London: Bump, 2019. Edition of 100 copies.
  • Updated and expanded second edition. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 100 copies.
• Forty Winks. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 100 copies.
  • Updated Second edition. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 100 copies.
• London 1989-1995. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 150 copies.
• London 1996-2001. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 150 copies.
• Wales 1993-1995. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 150 copies.
• Athens 1995. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 150 copies.
• Brazil. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 150 copies.
• The English Seaside 1995. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 150 copies.
• Phone Booth. London: Bump, 2020. Edition of 100 copies.

Books with contributions by Solomons

• 10 – 10 Years of In-Public. London: Nick Turpin, 2010. .^[8]
• London Street Photography 1860–2010. London: Museum of London, 2011. .
• The Street Photographer's Manual. London: Thames & Hudson, 2014. . By David Gibson. Includes a chapter on Solomons.
• 100 Great Street Photographs. Munich, London, New York: Prestel, 2017. By David Gibson. . Contains a commentary on and a photograph by Solomons.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• Happenstance, Oxford House, London, November 2009.^{[9] [10]}
• Up West, Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff, Wales, March 2010.^[11]
• No Smoking, Underground Gallery, London, May–June 2012.^[12]

Selected group exhibitions

• David Hodge Award, The Photographers' Gallery, London.
• A Looking Glass Eye: 21st Century London, Exit Gallery, London.^[13]
• 10 - 10 years of In-Public, Photofusion Gallery, London.^[14]
• Antennas, Voies Off, Arles, France.^[15]
• Right Here, Right Now – Exposures From The Public Realm, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Format International Photography Festival, Derby, UK, March–April 2011. Exhibition of photographs by In-Public members and the film In-Sight (2011).^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}
• London Street Photography: 1860-2010, Museum of London, London, February–September 2011.^[20] Travelled to Museum of the City of New York, July–December 2012.^[21]
• International Street Photography, German Gymnasium, London Street Photography Festival, London.^[22]
• From Distant Streets: Contemporary International Street Photography, Galerie Hertz, Louisville Photo Biennial, Louisville, KY, October–November 2011. Part of Louisville Photo Biennial. Curated by Richard Bram.^{[23] [24]}
• Underground, The Print Space, London, with Dylan Thomas and Gesche Wuerfel.^[25]
• Contemporary London Street Photography, King's Cross Station, London Festival of Photography, London.^[26]
• iN-PUBLiC: An Exhibition of Street Photography, Thailand Creative and Design Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, February–March 2013. In conjunction with the British Council.^{[27] [28] [29]} Photographs by In-Public members.
• In Public, Snickerbacken 7, Stockholm, Sweden, May–June 2013.^[30] Photographs by In-Public members.
• The Sharp Eye. In-Public in Mexico, Foto Mexico, Cine Tonalá, Mexico City, Mexico, October–November 2015. Slideshow of photographs.^[31]

Films

• In-Sight (2011). 38 minute documentary directed and edited by Nick Turpin, commissioned by Format for Format International Photography Festival, Derby, 2011. Includes interviews with Solomons and others, and shows him at work.^[32]

Collections

Solomons' work is held in the following public collection:

• Museum of London, London.

Notes

1. Web site: 779 - What was the Subject?. 2010-09-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20100429103605/http://www.sevensevennine.com/?p=1630. 2010-04-29. dead.
2. Web site: Digital Camera World - 21 street photography tips from the professionals. 2010-03-26.
3. Web site: England Rugby Team World Cup Victory Parade, Haymarket, London, 2003. 10 February 2015 . .
4. Web site: David Solmons - About . 2010-09-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090625062100/http://www.davidsolomons.com/about.php . 2009-06-25 .
5. Web site: Up and coming? David Solomons. 2010-09-13.
6. Web site: In-Public - News - Welcome David Solomons . 2010-09-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101123112233/http://in-public.com/news/2008/1/welcome_david_solomons . 2010-11-23 .
7. The publisher's page about this is here.
8. The publisher's page about this is here.
9. Web site: David Solomons: Happenstance . 2010-09-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110725093819/http://www.oxfordhouse.org.uk/template.php?ID=78 . 2011-07-25 .
10. Web site: Happenstance: Photographer David Solomons' retrospective opens in London . Chivers . Hayley . 4 November 2009 . 8 January 2012 . The Architects' Journal . "The London photographer David Solomons’ first solo retrospective is now open at the Oxford House Gallery in East London".
11. Web site: David Solomons: Up West. 2010-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20100327053512/http://www.artcardiff.com/website.cgi?place=features&id=1615. 2010-03-27. dead.
12. Web site: No Smoking, Underground Gallery . https://web.archive.org/web/20110926083454/http://www.undergroundgallery.co.uk/#/past/4563136006 . dead . 2011-09-26 .
13. Web site: A Looking Glass Eye: 21st Century London.
14. Web site: London Architecture Diary - Planner . 2010-09-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312213701/http://www.londonarchitecturediary.com/event.php?id=2128 . 2012-03-12 .
15. Web site: Antennas, Arles, France.
16. Web site: In-Public at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery . 16 January 2016 . Format International Photography Festival. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160402100617/http://archive11.formatfestival.com/exhibitions/exhibition/public-derby-museum-and-art-gallery . 2 April 2016 .
17. Web site: Format Programme Announcement . 10 February 2015 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150211122147/http://archive11.formatfestival.com/news-and-press/format-programme-announcement . 11 February 2015 .
18. Web site: In-Public Photographers Format Festival . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151001072954/http://archive11.formatfestival.com/artists/public-0 . October 1, 2015.
19. News: Format Festival: Street photography steals the show. 3 March 2011 . 11 February 2015 . Matilda . Battersby . .
20. Web site: 2011-02-17 . 150 years of London street photography . 2024-05-04 . The Telegraph . en.
21. Web site: The streets of London and New York come to life in this exhibition and companion installation. . 12 February 2015 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110850/http://www.mcny.org/content/london-street-photography . 4 March 2016 .
22. Web site: London Street Photography Festival. 2012-05-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20120604171636/http://lfph.org/gallery/international-street-photography-award. 2012-06-04. dead.
23. Web site: Louisville Photo Biennial . https://web.archive.org/web/20120718031323/http://www.billyhertzgallery.com/LOUISVILLE-PHOTO-BIENNIAL-2011.html . 18 July 2012 . Billy Hertz Gallery.
24. Web site: From Distant Streets . 19 September 2011 . 2 September 2015 . . Richard . Bram . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150908030413/http://www.in-public.com/news/2011/9/FromDistantStreets . 8 September 2015 .
25. Web site: Underground at Printspace . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120318230311/http://www.theprintspace.co.uk/blog/exhibition-opening-night/ . 2012-03-18 .
26. Web site: London Festival of Photography. 2012-05-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20130508171524/http://www.lfph.org/diary/contemporary-london-street-photography. 2013-05-08. dead.
27. Web site: iN-PUBLiC: An Exhibition of Street Photography . 10 February 2015 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150213060930/http://www.britishcouncil.or.th/en/programmes/arts/past-projects/public-exhibition-street-photography . February 13, 2015 .
28. Web site: iN-PUBLiC: An Exhibition of Street Photography . 26 March 2016 . Thailand Creative and Design Centre . 5 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160605130802/http://www.tcdc.or.th/exhibition/detail.php?ID=7996 . dead .
29. News: In-Public: An Exhibition of Street Photography. 26 March 2016 . .
30. Web site: In Public . Snickarbacken 7 . 29 August 2015.
31. Web site: The Sharp Eye. iN-PUBLIC in Mexico: Group Show. 10 June 2016 . Centro de la Imagen .
32. The film is available to watch here within Turpin's site.

External links

• • Solomons' In-Public page
• Solomons' Strange.rs page
• "David Solomons shoots Up West" on YouTube (2010)
• David Solomons: What was he thinking? – interview with Blake Andrews (2010)
• "Up West by David Solomons" – interview with Phil Coomes at BBC News (2015)