Review: On the Road

On Monday evening PhotoSoc hosted an exhibition called ‘On the Road’ at the Byre Theatre. I was pleasantly surprised by the intimate setting in the Lawrence Levy studio, a sort of mini-cinema on the top floor. The chosen photographs were projected onto a screen at the front of the room where visitors were provided with the ultimate combination of popcorn and wine and invited to watch. The photographs, which were selected by the committee from a number of entries, were also on display at the side of the room allowing for a leisurely perusal.

Despite being no expert on photography, it was easy to see what had drawn the committee to choose these particular images. The broad theme allowed for a variety of interpretations, ranging from explicit aerial shots of motorways to subtler readings which required deeper reflection. A photo of vines intertwining and crawling up a wall, for example, was construed as nature’s representation of roads on an A-Z map. Despite sounding rather clichéd, there was actually a real sense that the photographers had captured being ‘On the Road’ and not always in the most conventional ways. My personal favourite was a beautiful image of St Andrews’ very own Market Street, shot during sunset which emphasised the beauty of this town, something that is often forgotten by students.

This is PhotoSoc’s second photography exhibition of the academic year so far, with last week’s ‘Roots’ and family heritage inspired evening coinciding with Social Justice Week. The competitions are open to all students, not just society members and such a diverse student population from a number of different cultures and backgrounds results in an astounding assortment of photographs being entered. The exhibitions are usually free and with three more planned for next semester I would seriously recommend coming along and checking them out.

The winning photographs, shot by Elspeth Parsons, Ilinca Vanau and Galina Netylko, won three tickets to the film screening of ‘Climates’, a visual masterpiece filmed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which followed the exhibition. The film’s focus on expansive landscape settings meant that it fitted in nicely with the subject of being ‘On the Road’. All in all, the exhibition was a very laidback and enjoyable way to spend a weekday evening without feeling bad about the looming exams and deadlines. There are plans for a joint Fine Food & Dining and Food Photography evening next semester – something which I am sure will go down particularly well. So if you love both good food and good photography you definitely shouldn’t miss it!