Suburban Souk coming to Sheffield

It's March tomorrow! Where are the weeks going? On the success of our last joint venture, I've been busy planning a second event with Samuel Sparrow. 

 

Suburban Souk a Moroccan inspired POP-UP SHOP will take place on Monday, 28th March from 7.30pm at the Cross Scythes Pub, Baslow Road, Totley, Sheffield.

 

Showcasing my recently launched series of Limited Edition photographs THE MARRAKECH COLLECTION, which includes images evoking the bustle of the souks, the secret inner courtyards and the hidden back streets of a thousand and one Arabian nights. There will also be the opportunity to browse and buy Moroccan gifts including, jewellery, slippers, scarves, lanterns and mint tea glasses.

 

Sparrow and Co will be selling their range of candles, each one hand poured in Scotland using 100% natural wax and the finest fragrance oils and keeping with the Moroccan theme, their Tin Lanterns and Leather Pouffe's  - handmade in  the Souks of Marrakech, will also be available to buy on the night along with many other items from their latest homeware collection.

 

Who knows what you might leave the Suburban Souk with...Whatever it is, a magical evening is guaranteed and it certainly isn't what you would expect to find on a Monday night on the edge of Totley.

 

 

 

The Marrakech Collection added to Hudson Mackay Gallery

For those of you that don't know, I own an art gallery Hudson Mackay Gallery, showcasing artworks by around 60 British artists. We work with a wonderful collection of photographers, painters, sculptors, jewellery designers and illustrators. Over the next few weeks, exciting textile artists and their work will be added to the gallery too!  

The good news as of today is that my recently taken Limited Edition photographs from The Marrakech Collection have been added to the gallery and you can now view and buy them online here

 

The photographs can be ordered in different sizes to suit your requirements, therefore if the size you are looking for isn't there, please email me. 

 

It's all in the detail...

Morocco is fascinating and a photographers paradise. Its landscape and culture have a distinctive beauty which has impressed artists and travellers alike over the ages.  

On my last trip I gathered a small collection of just some of the beautiful details from around the city of Marrakech, including the Saadian Tombs, The Bahia Palace and The Ben Youssef Madrassa.   Skills and Art from hundreds, perhaps thousand of years ago are still being used there today, which makes it fascinating to photograph.  For example, the art of Zillij (the mosaic patterns) with a border of calligraphy is a tradition skill used to build and adorn mosques and palaces and is still used today in new buildings and renovations including private houses, restaurants and hotels.  Here in this collection of images I have sought to capture the wonderful aesthetic of these original details.

 

Maison de la photographie, Marrakech

For my 40th birthday in July 2010, my other half took me to Morocco and in the last 6 months we have been back 4 times! We love Morocco so much we have put things in place to buy a Riad in the Marrakech Medina. 

Last week, on our most recent trip we traveled with Samuel and Laura Sparrow and the four of us enjoyed shopping in the souks until our feet were sore, buying incense from the former slave market and joining in the carnival spirit in the Jemaa El Fna, we even had our hands henna-ed in the sunshine.

This trip we found even more great restaurants and enjoyed chocolat chaud on the Terrasse of Cafe de France a little too often. 

After a delicious lunch on the roof terrace at Le Foundouk we visited the Maison de la photographie and having never been before I was keen to see the collection which dates from 1870-1950 in such a special setting and it didn't disappoint. The black and white photography looked stunning deep in the heart of the Marrakech Medina in the backdrop of a traditional Riad with a central courtyard and fountain. Of the photographs on display, some were anonymous and others by some of the first western photographers to ever capture images of the indigenous people of the High Atlas mountains of Morocco, the Berbers. The exhibition beautifully illustrated the history, culture, ethnology and daily life of this fascinating country.

 

From the roof terrace the uninterrupted view across the Medina to the Atlas mountains was a real surprise. Lunch and refreshments are served on the terrace too, but having just eaten, we went straight back to the souks for more shopping.