Trail: Fringes by Simon Roberts
Taking my cue from Photo Fringe's name, my trail explores works that either directly or indirectly reference the idea of ‘fringe’, as defined as:
(noun) the border or outer edges of an area or group
(adjective) not part of the mainstream; unconventional, peripheral, or extreme.
My selection includes works by artists whose subject matter documents those on the edges of society; projects that reference geographical or psychological borders; confront under-represented issues; or that were made by artists who perhaps would describe themselves as marginal.
Simon Roberts is a British photographer whose work deals with our relationship to landscape and notions of identity and belonging. He's published and exhibited widely and his photographs reside in major public and private collections, including the George Eastman House, Deutsche Börse Art Collection and the V&A Museum. In 2010 he was commissioned as the official British Election Artist on behalf of the UK Parliamentary Art Collection and in 2014 represented Britain during the UK-Russia Year of Culture. He is the author of several critically acclaimed monographs including Motherland (2007), We English (2009), Pierdom (2013) and Merrie Albion - Landscape Studies of a Small Island (2017)