Brighton Photo Biennial changes the face of the town

At the moment, Brighton seems to belong to photography rather than tourism, clubbing or shopping. Since the launch of its fourth Photo Biennial two weeks ago, streets linking the exhibition spaces have seen crowds enthusiastic like never before at this event.

Its success derives from the curator, the UK’s best-known photographer, Martin Parr. He has injected a new energy and exploited his connections. His personal contribution, The House of Vernacular, is a dreamlike walk through tiny rooms lined with photographs. Including hand-coloured portraits from Brazil and litter bins from the Design Museum archives they simulate a journey through his mind’s image bank.

Parr also commissioned three fellow photographers to take pictures with Brighton as the central character: Rinko Kawauchi’s interpretation of the famously sculptural starling clouds at twilight stands out against Stephen Gill’s abstracts and Alec and Carmen Soth’s mundane Picture Hunt. Far more intriguing is New Ways of Looking, where nine international photographers display contrasting approaches to portraiture and documentary. These include Mexico’s Oscar Fernando Gomez shooting street scene vignettes through his taxi window, Suzanne Opton’s poignant portraits of American soldiers home from war, and Billy Monk’s raunchy Sixties black-and-white archive portraits from Cape Town’s nightclubs.
We know from Parr’s photography that colour is his lure, and his Biennial offers a refreshingly upbeat window on a world. He seems to shelter us from life’s grim realities but the vast, feisty Photo Fringe handles that effortlessly.

Until November 14. bpb.org.uk

Brighton Photo Biennial
Various venues