Jonathan Swain | culture, practice and the ethics of the press

“What happened?” Oona addressed this as a kind of local petition to the five or six aggrieved passengers milling nearest. As in a street incident involving wreckage or fire trucks a volunteer explainer emerged, a middle aged Hasid with curved shoulders draped in a long, soiled scarf, and bearing twin shopping bags like a milkmaid’s yoke. He seemed drawn to Oona as another dressed in black.

Chronic City. Jonathan Lethem. Faber Faber 2010

I.W.M. March 2025

International Women’s Day celebrated wonderfully by a whole gang of people in the front room of the Torriano Meeting House in Kentish Town. A lovely afternoon of singing, performing and conversation. Rose Zehner addresses striking workers at the Citroen-Javel factory. … Continue reading →

Moloheya (2006)

8 Mar ’22

Recipe for Moloheya, a nutriitious dish popular in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Libya. Events, discussion and DVD with Haim Ben Shitrit, Fabrica and local residents. A Brighton and Hove City Council Commission.

Fire & Glass (2008)

8 Mar ’22

Late one afternoon. A short autobiographical happening concerning fire and glass structures. A greenhouse full to overflowing with smoke, it leaks from the inside. Smoke is one of the main purgative cleansers used in horticulture; it has a history that goes … Continue reading →

VOODOO PICNIC (1998) A day long Visual Stress action at various locations around Liverpool city centre.

8 Mar ’22

Drummers, performance, dancers, ritual. Video stills by Julian White.

Blue Blouse (2017)

8 Mar ’22

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolutions New Factory of the Eccentric Actor produced a rousing tribute to the collective effort of Blue Blouse theatre groups who performed in factories in the USSR, USA, Germany and across Europe … Continue reading →

POW Interview (1991)

8 Mar ’22

‘POW Interview’ is a short hostage tape produced for a video diary call-out by FACT in Liverpool. It’s my personal response to life on the dole and the history of European resistance movements. Also there is a nod to pop … Continue reading →

Cosy (2009)

8 Mar ’22

“A photograph of a group of postal workers celebrating with another, smaller, indistinct group of people, mainly women, around a large, padded textile object. It is the middle of the night. They drink champagne out of mugs and are shaking … Continue reading →

NIGHTWORKER (2010) A mobile exhibition of photographs of people who work at night

8 Mar ’22

Tom Hickmore

Our daytime lives are dependant on those who work while we sleep, rest or play. This is my attempt, using a mix up of debris from a protest and the conventions of the gallery world, to create a ‘group’ portrait … Continue reading →

Holed Up (2008)

8 Mar ’22

Exhibition view. Twelve cash machine photographs. Grey Area. Brighton Photo Fringe. I have been taking photographs of redundant ATMs for the past six years. Initially I was intrigued by the inept way the builders were attempting to prise new blocks of (false) marble … Continue reading →

The you you meet en route (2013)

8 Mar ’22

In May 2013 I walked from Brighton to Newhaven, crossed the channel to Dieppe, carried on to Rouen and from there down the Seine to Burgundy. From Dijon I took the tow path of the Rhine Rhone link canal then … Continue reading →