The forthcoming Bristol Photo Festival features a number of exhibitions that use archival material in its own right or to inform contemporary practice. Of particular note is the exhibition: Herbert Shergold: Now Keep Quite Still. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Herbert Shergold operated a commercial photography studio in Bristol to create highly stylised portraits of actors as well as of his local community. In Shergold’s studio, Bristol’s working class residents were styled to appear as Hollywood film stars.
Little is known of Shergold, although he lectured to Bristol Camera Club in 1952 with a preentation titled 'Accent on Glamour'. After his death, his photographs largely disappeared from view, falling into the possession of private collectors in the US, The Netherlands, as well as Bristol. From the latter collection, curator and photo historian Hedy van Erp has curated the first exhibition of Shergold’s work. This exhibition takes place close to the site of his original studio and is supported by Marcel Brent (Vintage Photographs) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Herbert Shergold: Now Keep Quite Still
The Laundrette Gallery, 145 Cheltenham Rd, Cotham, Bristol BS6 5RR
16 October-17 November 2024
Details of the Bristol Photo Festival are here: https://bristolphotofestival.org/
Image: Herbert Shergold’s collection. © VintagePhotographs
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