Antoine and beyond

© Michael Grieve / 1000 Words

In October 2010, 1000 Words held its first workshop in the medina of Fez, Morocco with the very special Magnum photographer, Antoine d’Agata. The workshop was a resounding success with all 12 participants producing vibrant and intimate photography. The location of Fez offered unique challenges and presented an intense backdrop for photographers to be truly creative. It is easy to get lost in the medina and this was perhaps the underlining and appropriate theme to the week.

1000 Words (Michael Grieve and Tim Clark) would like to thank all the participants for their tremendous energy and contribution. They completely opened up to the experience and allowed themselves to discover new approaches and push their mental and emotional selves to the limit. The participants were:

Richard Bee, UK
Martin Bogren, Sweden
Laura Hynd, UK
Miwako Homma, Japan
Edoardo Pasero, Italy
Alex Lau, USA
Katie White, USA
Joao Linneu, Brazil
Roberta Holden, Canada
Karin Crona, France
April Mountfort, Australia
Kay Erickson, USA






















© Michael Grieve / 1000 Words

We would also like to thank Antoine d’Agata for his incredible skill as a teacher and for his warm and gracious presence.

The workshop would not have been possible without the assistance of Omar Chennafi for his practical knowledge of Fez and for bringing a wonderfully positive attitude to a fervent and industrious atmosphere. And Vanessa Bonnin, who provided us with the means to process black and white films and sourced the only person in Morocco who supplies the necessary chemicals!

1000 Words is organising four more workshops in Morocco next year and will be making a call for submissions very soon. Until then, check out more photos from the workshop over at the 1000 Words Photography Magazine group on Facebook.

Gihan Tubbeh

All images © Gihan Tubbeh from the series Nights of Grace.

Pictured here are a few brilliant examples from a talented young Peruvian photographer called Gihan Tubbeh.

"The project presented is not intended to tell a story, " says Gihan Tubbeh of her sparkling collection of photographs, adding, albeit obliquely: "It is rather an assemblage of soiled images that are read among each other."

"If I could sum up the series in one word I would say it's about transgression," she explains, which clearly echoes the subjective approach, technique and intimate emotion of the great Magnum photographer.

"The photos document the most primitive and instinctive conditions of humanity. The tone is acid: it talks about the vulnerable excess of desire, the insatiable hunger for pleasure on the edge of suffering, about violation towards the flesh, joy throughout offense, the eternal return towards the visceral, the morbid by wounding and being wounded.

For transgression to exist, there must be awareness of good and evil, guilt, and condemnation of sin. But this knowledge is left suspended, hidden in our consciousness as a thumping secret that causes greed and temptation towards the forbidden. The body is the battleground between Eros and Thanatos, between desire and destruction; the woman is mother and destroyer, which represents masculine desire. This way, we break life's boundaries with our bodies, resisting thirsty to nights' pain, moving in between crime and repression."

Gihan Tubbeh (26), Peru, followed three years on audio-visual communications at the University of Lima, before studying photography at the Centro de la Imagen, also in the Peruvian capital. Her work has appeared in Die Zeit,Travel and Leisure, and Vision magazine, as well as in numerous publications across Peru. Gihan has featured in a number of group and solo exhibitions across Peru and Europe. She also forms part of Versus Photo, a Peruvian collective of photographers. On 2009, she was one of the twelve photographers who joined the Joop Swart Masterclass of WWP. This year, Gihan won the 1st prize in Daily Life stories with Adrian, a 13-year old autist of the World Press Photo competition. Recently, she has been selected to join Reflexions Masterclass which will begun on May for a two-year seminar. Her last solo exhibition was this past July 2010, Purge in OJO AJENO Gallery.

1000 WORDS WORKSHOP WITH ANTOINE D’AGATA IN MOROCCO, OCTOBER 2010

© Antoine d´Agata

1000 Words is proud to present its first workshop with the Magnum photographer, Antoine d’Agata, in Fez, Morocco (25-31 October 2010). We are making a call for photographers, professional and amateur alike, to submit entries for this unique creative experience.

“It isn’t the eye that photography poses on the world that interests me but its most intimate rapport with that world”
Antoine d’Agata

Please scroll down for more information and how to submit.

ANTOINE D’AGATA:

Antoine d’Agata is without doubt one of the most unique and important photographers of our age. His imagery is characterised by an intense and highly subjective experience that pushes the limits of social documentary photography. Born in Marseille, 1961, he left France in 1990 to study at The International Centre for Photography in New York alongside Nan Goldin and Larry Clark. His work has been published in the books Insomnia, Vortex, Stigma and Agonie amongst others, and he has been exhibited internationally at galleries and festivals including Rencontres d’Arles, Noorderlicht, FotoFreo and The Photographers Gallery, London.

He has been a member of Magnum Photos since 2004 and is represented by Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire in Paris.

ABOUT US:

1000 Words Photography is an artist-led organisation that has promoted the work of more than 280 art photographers through publishing and exhibiting opportunities. The organisation´s flagship is 1000 Words, an online magazine dedicated to highlighting the best work in contemporary art photography worldwide. The site attracts approximately 140,000 unique visitors from more than 75 countries every month. The 1000 Words Workshop is organised by Tim Clark, writer and editor-in-chief at 1000 Words and Michael Grieve, 1000 Words contributing editor and photographer represented by Agence Vu.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

The location for the 1000 Words Workshop will be the beautifully evocative city of Fez, Morocco. The salon will take place in an authentically restored riad in the heart of the medieval medina of Fez. The workshop will be an intense experience lasting six days between 25-31 October 2010 and will consist of 12 participants.

We are looking for a diverse range of participants who understand the work of Antoine d’Agata and feel that their own work will benefit from his guidance. Each participant will be asked to examine the ultimate goal of his approach, to play an active part in his own images and to work on the texture of reality. Since images, like words, only take on meaning when brought together, the workshop will focus on finding the most relevant form for each individual stance. Working with Antoine d’Agata, participants must be ready to photograph intensively throughout the workshop and to extend the limits of their approach. They will have to confront their obsessions and contradictions as they shape a series of images conveying in real or fictional terms their private relationship with the world.

Depending on individual needs the daily structure begins with lunch at the riad and during the afternoon Antoine will encourage group participation in looking, critiquing and developing ideas and image making. In the late afternoon participants will begin to photograph. The week will end with a display of the work created. All participants work will be shown in a special feature on 1000 Words Photography magazine. The purpose of the workshop is to concentrate on a very personal approach to photography and certainly this will be a richly rewarding week for those who wish to push themselves.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

The cost of the workshop will be £1250 for 6 days. Once participants have been selected they will be expected to pay a non-refundable deposit of £350 within two weeks. Participants can then pay the rest of the fee in two instalments according to deadlines (see below). Participants are encouraged to arrive the day before the workshop begins for a welcome dinner. The price includes tuition from Antoine d’Agata, a welcome and farewell dinner, lunch everyday and snacks during the afternoon, 24 hour help from the 1000 Words team and an assistant with local knowledge. Participants will be expected to make their own travel arrangements and find accommodation, which in Fez can range from £150 upwards for the week. We can advise on finding the accommodation that best suits you. Remember that most of your time will be spent either at the riad or shooting. For photographers using film we will provide the means for processing and a scanner. Photographers shooting digital will be expected to bring all necessary equipment. All participants should also bring a laptop if they have one. Every effort will be made to accommodate individual technical needs.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

We require that you send 10 images as low res jpegs and/or a link to your website, as well as a short biography and statement about why you think it will be relevant for you to work with Antoine (approx 200 words total). Submissions are to be sent to workshops(a)1000wordsmag(dot)com with the following subject header: SUBMISSION FOR 1000 WORDS WORKSHOP IN FEZ OCTOBER 2010. Tim Clark and Michael Grieve will produce a shortlist from the entries (all those shortlisted will be contacted) and then Antoine will select the final 12.

14 June 2010: Deadline for applications
30 June 2010: Successful candidates contacted
14 July 2010: Deposit due (£350)
16 August 2010: Second instalment due (£350)
31 August 2010: Third instalment due (£550)
24 October 2010: Arrive in Morocco
25 October 2010: Workshop begins
31 October 2010: Workshop ends

Bonne chance!