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UEL’s Paola Leonardi returns from Iceland to open photographic exhibition

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Photo from 'Undrawn Hours' exhibition

University of East London associate Paola Leonardi is exhibiting a captivating photographic series following a residency in Iceland earlier this year.

Titled Undrawn Hours, the series was created whilst Paola was working at the Nes Artist Residency in Skagastrond, north Iceland. The series is described as a photographic exploration of the remote Skagi peninsula, which has been scourged by winter storms and drained by the economic recession.

Paola says: ‘This area is littered with abandoned farms and unused summer cabins, broken sheds and dismissed boats, a stark reminder of the depopulation and decay of local farming and fishing industry. The harsh weather made human encounters rare, whilst the objects have become relics abandoned in a sea of hay and ice, reminders of a passed human presence which cannot be located in time.’

Paola uses the photographic medium to trace the human imprint on the territory, a lyrical depiction of the shift in human geography that has lead to the abandonment of the countryside and dismissal of manual industry.

Undrawn Hours opens at the Teasmith Gallery in Shoreditch on Thursday 20 May. The exhibition will run until Sunday 13 June open from 11.00am to 6.00pm, seven days a week. A Q&A session with the artist will be held on 23 May and 6 June between 2.00pm and 4.00pm.

The exhibition is sponsored by Arts Council England, Nes Listamidstod Artist Residency, Teasmith, Isis London and the University of East London.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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