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Linda, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Photographs ©Craig Easton/Lottie Davies
A new exhibition of photographs, audio and text by international award-winning photographers Craig Easton and Lottie Davies is set to open at Stills Gallery in Edinburgh on 27th June. The work on show is the result of an 18-month long residency with NHS Lothians commissioned by Tonic Arts and Green Health, the NHS Lothian Charity’s programmes.
Imposing, but intimate, large-scale portraits, still lives and personal testimony document the work-life experiences of NHS Lothian staff in a variety of roles across a wide range of hospital and healthcare sites from the basement laundry at the Royal Infirmary to the rooftop terrace of NHS Lothian headquarters at Waverley Gate. 28 penetrating photographs celebrate the commitment of NHS staff and uncover the places where they find time for quiet in their hectic workdays.
During their residency, the artists interviewed and photographed over 70 NHS Lothian staff and the result is a collection of photographs and stories that give insight to NHS staff’s wellbeing and mental health needs. The work has become part of the NHS Lothian Charity’s Tonic Arts permanent art collection and will be exhibited across NHS Lothian sites in the coming months and years.
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Craig Easton is a Scottish photographer whose work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition. He makes long-term projects exploring issues around social policy, identity and a sense of place, in a research-based practice that weaves a narrative between contemporary experience and history. In April 2021, he was awarded the title of Photographer of the Year at the SONY World Photography Awards and is the current recipient of The Arnold Newman Prize for Portraiture in the USA. He has published three monographs: Fisherwomen, Bank Top and Thatcher’s Children.
Lottie Davies is a BAFTA-nominated artist and writer based in Cornwall and London. Her work is exhibited and collected internationally. She has been the recipient of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Award, The Young Masters Prize, and the Arte Laguna Prize for Photography amongst others. Her practice employs moving image, audio, text and interactive installation alongside photography. This mixed media approach was crystallized in her seven-year project Quinn which was widely exhibited across the UK and published in a limited edition monograph in 2021.
Linda, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Photographs ©Craig Easton/Lottie Davies
27th June 6-8pm
Stills Centre for Photography
23 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BP, Scotland, UK