Johanna Neurath is Design Director at an international art book publisher. A self-confessed image junkie, type nerd and bibliophile, Neurath has worked in publishing for more than 25 years as a book designer, picture editor, typographer and commissioning editor. On high days and holidays she takes her own street photographs
A Hackney resident “since the 80s”, Johanna Neurath began taking photos of the east London markets as part of her job in publishing. “The photographs came from recording interesting colour combinations for book jackets,” she says. For a decade, Neurath was the self-confessed “crazy lady” who would take photos every Sunday, annoying stall-holders. Now collected in a handsome book, Columbia Road highlights the beauty of the flower markets and the ugliness of the detritus (cigarette ends, stomped-on plastic bags). For Neurath the sequencing was key. “It was a bit like making a film. There’s an element of trying to tap into the viewer’s unconsciousness and make them feel a certain way.” (The Guardian)
While most people take home a lovely bunch of flowers, or at least the memory of them, Neurath is interested in the market’s aftermath – the left behind, the discarded, and the detritus. Her photographs are taken as the market packs up, looking down at the remnants strewn across the floor and lying in the gutter.
Johanna has kindly donated 6 of this wonderful series to Photography on a Postcard and they are as vibrant as her work is often celebrated for. The aftermath, the hangover, the nostalgia, urban vs. nature, is all present in these images, take a look here.
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Recent photography titles she has personally commissioned include amongst others: Street Photography Now, Tim Walker’s Story Teller and Photographers’ Sketchbooks. She was an honorary judge for the World Photography Awards in 2014, and in 2015 was a judge for D&AD’s Next Photographer Award. She is also a regular portfolio reviewer at international photography festivals including Les Rencontres d’Arles; the Format Photo Festival; Fotofest Houston and Fotografiska’s Stockholm Photography week, and is one of the co-founders of London’s own portfolio reviews: Photo Meet.
Don't miss your chance to purchase work by one of the world's most prolific photographers, buy your ticket here now before they sell out. The photographs will be on display at theprintspace, Shoreditch until 12th – 24th October.