PHOTOGRAPHY

The V&A collection

The Photography Centre at V&A South Kensington, in west London, which opens on Thursday, celebrates the V&A’s photography collection, one of the largest and most important in the world. Here are a few

Longing for Love, 2018, is from the series A Myth of Two Souls, a seven-year project which mixes daily life in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal with staged pictures combining a wide range of techniques including colour photography, hand-painted photography and collage
Longing for Love, 2018, is from the series A Myth of Two Souls, a seven-year project which mixes daily life in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal with staged pictures combining a wide range of techniques including colour photography, hand-painted photography and collage
VASANTHA YOGANANTHAN
The Times
Big Bang, 1986, reflects the economic confidence of 1980s’ London exemplified by the building boom. The explosion was created by a mortar firework deliberately shot to light the scene
Big Bang, 1986, reflects the economic confidence of 1980s’ London exemplified by the building boom. The explosion was created by a mortar firework deliberately shot to light the scene
BRIAN GRIFFIN
Riot Girl, 1998, is from the Raves and Riots collection which document Vinca Petersen’s experiences as part of the free party and traveller community. The images juxtapose the sense of escapism and euphoria of this unique cultural moment with the oppressive political climate which outlawed the lifestyles of those responsible for Britain’s rave scene
Riot Girl, 1998, is from the Raves and Riots collection which document Vinca Petersen’s experiences as part of the free party and traveller community. The images juxtapose the sense of escapism and euphoria of this unique cultural moment with the oppressive political climate which outlawed the lifestyles of those responsible for Britain’s rave scene
VINCA PETERSEN
Sans Titre 5 comes from Joana Choumali series Ça va aller (It’ll be OK), which charts life after a terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam, former capital of the Ivory Coast, in 2016. The pictures were all taken on a phone
Sans Titre 5 comes from Joana Choumali series Ça va aller (It’ll be OK), which charts life after a terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam, former capital of the Ivory Coast, in 2016. The pictures were all taken on a phone
JOANA CHOUMALI
Richard Avedon’s image of Simone d'Aillencourt, dress by Trigère, Cape Canaveral, reflects his career as a fashion photographer, but he also shot grittier protraits in mental hospitals and of napalm victims
Richard Avedon’s image of Simone d'Aillencourt, dress by Trigère, Cape Canaveral, reflects his career as a fashion photographer, but he also shot grittier protraits in mental hospitals and of napalm victims
RICHARD AVEDON
Libido Uprising, 1989, focuses on Jo Spence’s vision of a 1950s’ working-class, domesticated housewife, seen from the eyes of a young woman in the 1980s who is exploring her sexual freedom
Libido Uprising, 1989, focuses on Jo Spence’s vision of a 1950s’ working-class, domesticated housewife, seen from the eyes of a young woman in the 1980s who is exploring her sexual freedom
JO SPENCE
Naoya Hatakeyama’s Blast #5707 1998, was part of a series co-ordinated with an explosives expert who accurately predicted where the shrapnel from the blasted boulders would fly
Naoya Hatakeyama’s Blast #5707 1998, was part of a series co-ordinated with an explosives expert who accurately predicted where the shrapnel from the blasted boulders would fly
NAOYA HATAKEYAMA
Radio Telescope, Effelsberg XV: September 12, 2013. The Effelsberg telescope is one of the largest radio telescopes on Earth, with a diameter of 100 metres, and collects ancient radio waves that have travelled for light years to reach our hemisphere, helping to shape our understanding of planets and activity beyond our own
Radio Telescope, Effelsberg XV: September 12, 2013. The Effelsberg telescope is one of the largest radio telescopes on Earth, with a diameter of 100 metres, and collects ancient radio waves that have travelled for light years to reach our hemisphere, helping to shape our understanding of planets and activity beyond our own
VERA LUTTER
Hoda Afshar’s Untitled #1 comes from the series Speak the Wind 2020, focused on the islands in the Strait of Hormuz, off the southern coast of Iran, where there is a common belief that the winds can possess a person, bringing illness and disease
Hoda Afshar’s Untitled #1 comes from the series Speak the Wind 2020, focused on the islands in the Strait of Hormuz, off the southern coast of Iran, where there is a common belief that the winds can possess a person, bringing illness and disease
HODA AFSHAR
Liz Johnson Artur’s, Untitled from the Black Balloon Archive, which has been described as many things, from “a family album of the diaspora” to “a reclamation of black representation”
Liz Johnson Artur’s, Untitled from the Black Balloon Archive, which has been described as many things, from “a family album of the diaspora” to “a reclamation of black representation”
LIZ JOHNSON ARTUR
The series Parties 2005 shows young Iranians socialising in private homes, their faces and other exposed flesh blocked out to protect their identities and also to call attention to the subversive nature of their actions under the current regime
The series Parties 2005 shows young Iranians socialising in private homes, their faces and other exposed flesh blocked out to protect their identities and also to call attention to the subversive nature of their actions under the current regime
AMIRALI GHASEMI
Madison Square Garden, Velodrome, 1932 features a six-day bicycle race, through which Zinneman, who went on to make some of the most celebrated films of the 20th century, examined how people survived without work during the Depression
Madison Square Garden, Velodrome, 1932 features a six-day bicycle race, through which Zinneman, who went on to make some of the most celebrated films of the 20th century, examined how people survived without work during the Depression
FRED ZINNEMANN
William Henry Fox Talbot, Leaves on a Stem, circa 1839. Fox Talbot, the polymath who pioneered photography through the salt paper and caliotype processes he invented, was also an MP and an expert on ancient history
William Henry Fox Talbot, Leaves on a Stem, circa 1839. Fox Talbot, the polymath who pioneered photography through the salt paper and caliotype processes he invented, was also an MP and an expert on ancient history
WILLIAM HENRY FOX TALBOT
Self Portrait as Walking Woman with Bag, 1979 from the series 1979: Contact Negatives, in which Tarrah Krajnak imaginatively returns herself to Lima, Peru, in 1979, the year she was adopted from an orphanage there
Self Portrait as Walking Woman with Bag, 1979 from the series 1979: Contact Negatives, in which Tarrah Krajnak imaginatively returns herself to Lima, Peru, in 1979, the year she was adopted from an orphanage there
TARRAH KRAJNAK
Man Ray, Le Souffle, from the portfolio Électricité, is the result of a commission in 1931 by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Electricite to produce a series of pictures promoting the private consumption of electricity
Man Ray, Le Souffle, from the portfolio Électricité, is the result of a commission in 1931 by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Electricite to produce a series of pictures promoting the private consumption of electricity
MAN RAY
Val Wilmer’s image of Inez Andrews, with tambourine, and Elaine Davis, at Fairfield Hall, in Croydon, in February 1965 formed part of a 1973 exhibition entitled Jazz Seen — The Face of Black Music
Val Wilmer’s image of Inez Andrews, with tambourine, and Elaine Davis, at Fairfield Hall, in Croydon, in February 1965 formed part of a 1973 exhibition entitled Jazz Seen — The Face of Black Music
VAL WILMER