Major Project Influences (2) - John Levett

I first came across the work of John Levett after I joined the London Independent Photography Group (LIPG) in 2007. His articles often appeared in their quarterly magazine. Whereas the photographs, in common with virtually all the photographs that appeared in the magazine, had little or no aesthetic appeal for me at the time the accompanying text was fascinating. Levett’s prose usually took the form of an interview, in which an imaginary interviewer asked him questions about his past, to which Levett would reply – in kind. The articles were all about memory and it was clear that he had had a difficult upbringing and had also spent time in an alcohol rehabilitation centre. The images that accompanied his articles usually showed fragments of his past life in the form of archival photographs, tickets, gallery programmes etc. Sometimes the objects were framed and sometimes text was added (see images 1 and 2).

Image 1 (John Levett) 

Image 2 (John Levett)

I can’t remember why I joined the LIPG, but it was soon clear that the members whose articles appeared in the magazine were thinking along totally different lines to me. I remember visiting their annual exhibition and looking at a series of photographs featuring cars in (I think) Morocco that had been covered by dust sheets – and that was it. Only now do I realise that I was looking at examples of conceptual photographic art, of the kind that is promoted by The British Journal of Photography, amongst others, and is taught to and practiced by students at art colleges throughout the UK. I didn’t renew my membership for a third year, but I kept my copies of the magazine and now look through them from time to time in order to stimulate ideas.

One of Levett’s articles for the LIPG magazine (winter 2008; no. 11) features memories of his parents (both long dead) and his attempts to find out more about their lives from very limited archival material and conversations with the very few people who had known both Levett and his parents. The images that accompany the article (e.g. image 3) all incorporate photographs or drawings of his mother and are apparently carelessly taken, with no attempt to produce a smart or uniform series. However, the photographs do create an atmosphere and an almost privileged view of one person’s past.

Looking at Levett’s articles and images provided me with the confidence to believe that I could talk about my own mother and represent her later years, albeit in a very different manner to Levett, in a photographic project that has now become my major project. Not only that, but I have also produced one image (image 4) for the project that was strongly influenced by Levett’s own photographic work. Whether the image, or one in this style, will survive to feature in my final portfolio is open to doubt. What is not in doubt is Levett’s influence on my general outlook to the project.

Image 3 (John Levett)

Image 4

A quick internet search suggests that John Levett is still active within the LIPG. His photographic practice now seems to mainly involve walking and photographing in public spaces. His written “self-interrogation” style remains (see https://cucrblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/walking-backwards-spitting-in-the-face-of-death-by-john-levett/) and he continues to base a lot of his work on memories from the past.