Opening reception: ‘Don McCullin. The Stillness of Life’

Join us for the opening reception of ‘Don McCullin. The Stillness of Life’ at our Somerset gallery. Forming a focused presentation of over sixty landscape photographs, the exhibition maps Sir Don McCullin CBE’s intimate relationship with the local landscape of Somerset and continued passion for global travel since the sixties. Regarded as one of the most accomplished war photographers of recent times, McCullin has spent the last six decades travelling to remote locations and witnessing harrowing scenes of conflict and destruction. Often referring to the British countryside as his greatest salvation, McCullin demonstrates the full mastery of his medium with stark black and white images resonating with human emotion. This personal survey depicts scenes across the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, revealing McCullin’s innermost feelings through powerful compositions of wild heavens, haunting vistas and meditative still lifes. Having been evacuated to the safety of Somerset during the Blitz, McCullin has had a lifelong connection with the open farmland and hill country of the South West, feeling at peace within the solitude of the expansive landscape. The largest body of work featured in the exhibition explores local areas within walking distance of the photographer’s home, including ‘The River Alham near my house, Somerset’ (2007), ‘The Dew Pond, Somerset’ (1988) and ‘Batcombe Vale’ (1992-93). McCullin is able to evoke dramatic painterly representations of his home county with quiet confidence, shifting between the flooded lowlands of the Somerset levels to woodland streams, nearby monuments and historic hill forts. This is a free event, all welcome. No booking necessary. _ We are encouraging visitors and our local residents to be as mindful as possible when travelling to the gallery during the opening receptions,  as we are expecting a lot of visitors and car parking at the gallery is limited. A shuttle bus service will be running from Godminster Cheese car park (BA10 0EH) to the gallery every 5 minutes from 5.45 – 8.15 pm. We also ask that visitors consider car sharing and public transport links to minimise traffic during the evening. Bruton train station is 5 minutes walk away and designated public car parks are at Higher Backway, Station Road and the Jubilee Park playground, with a public footpath running from Bruton through our community allotments. Please be aware that if you do not use the shuttle bus service you may be caught in a queue for some time to enter the gallery site.