I just went to Proud Gallery and Ken's exhibition is superb, very highly recommended.
The photos, all black and white, come from his pre film days. There are three types of photos
- the Teddy Girl series. The teddy girls are young teenagers, and Ken really does reveal the character of the girls in the stylish pictures. Similar photos are of young children on Portobello Road, London (near where I live but I can't recognise the locations from the photos).
- posed series, such as "other uses of a bicycle"- lots of photos of a Penny Farthing with people using it as anything but a bike. Others are very good, such as a photo of the door of a private detective, with the shadows of two men on the door. Very Alfred Hitchcock, I thought of the opening of Don't Shoot the Composer
- the rest. This includes a brush with films and celebrity, a photo of Richard Burton, in a Roman centurions costume.
Good news, you can buy the photos signed by Ken. Most are in editions of 25. Only £500 each (some £2000) or £650 with a frame. I bought six. [No I didn't!!]
This exhibition show what a good photographer he was, and his insight into people. If you can, go and see it.
Iain