Borderland - Liz Lock and Mishka Henner (Gallery Oldham until 10th January 2009)
Pilgrims and Peregrines - Jamie Baldridge (Richard Goodall Gallery, Manchester, until 6th December)
SUN (Lowry Hotel, Manchester until 30th November, and at Matt and Phreds until 31st December)

Over the last 18 months Liz Lock & Mishka Henner explored the cultural landscape and identity of Oldham. They’ve combined portraits - formal, considered ones that were developed over some time and dialogue with the subject - with reportage and landscape, but there is no great division between the three forms. While the portraits are emphatically set in the Oldham landscape, much of the reportage also has a formal quality. A crowd gathered to watch the Gay Pride Parade might also be watching aliens land - perhaps they are? - while a view of the brass band competition instead focuses on the rain falling in front of a spotlight. The impression is of photographers in control of what they show us; working to extract moments of stillness. Only a couple of blurred photos of nightclub dancers seem to be of a different kind. Their pictures are shown alongside reprints from an archive of Oldham photography, and there are clear parallels. The implication is that a new archive is being created. Lock and Henner’s work shares some of the seductive charm and beauty of the archive material, and ought to please visitors whether from Oldham or outside.

This work probably wouldn’t exist without the riots of 2001; the exhibition is part-funded by a regeneration agency set up to rebuild the community, and part by the Arts Council. Arts and regeneration sound like they would make a good match but in practice they are often uneasy bedfellows; artistic integrity can be compromised by the relentless positivity of the regeneration agenda. It is to Lock and Henner’s credit that they have avoided easy answers in this work - the show’s keynote image is an expectant young mother in a grubby wasteland - but the best that an artist can hope to do in these circumstances is to hold up a mirror. This they do with ever-growing maturity and dexterity.

Jamie Baldridge is not working within the constraints of public funding, although a strict Catholic upbringing in the deep south of the USA meant he saw no art that wasn’t religious during his childhood. However, clearly his imagination was, and remains, on overdrive. Using photography, 3-D imaging and Photoshop he combines elements into large photographic montages depicting imaginary scenes. Symbols and scenes are drawn from ancient myth, old master painting, Victorian fantasy and surrealism; what Baldridge adds is photo-realism. To some extent we’re used to this with advertising but Baldridge’s images are darker and richer, and suffused with layers of meaning and an overarching narrative that connects them. That connection is strengthened by the restrained and consistent palette of tone and colour, and the expertise of the lighting.

For the exhibition Pilgrims and Peregrines he has produced a set of limited edition prints, some from his book The Everywhere Chronicles ($7,500), which recently beat Richard Misrach’s wonderful On The Beach and five others to win its publisher a Lucie Award. Lovers of surrealism and montage need to be on the first bus to Manchester to catch this exclusive show in its short run.

The SUN Awards (formerly Shot Up North) hit their twentieth birthday this year. Now more than just a show, it offers a complete professional development package, and while it’s no longer exclusive to members of the Association of Photographers, still only professionals can enter. It’s a showcase of the best commercial and editorial photography north of London. The images have to work singly and without text. Ususally they’re taken to commission, or with an eye to further use, so need to please both art editors and the public. There is little evidence of digital manipulation beyond some tonal correction. This probably reflects the desire of agencies and art editors for “straight” images that they then can work on. Despite all that, photographers manage year after year to come up with something new. The winning photo shows Alpine birds fluttering over a ski run. Imagine what that might look like, then see if the image is what you had in mind.

This is work that’s seldom seen in galleries in the UK, because it neither fits the public arts agenda, nor is made primarily to appeal to the collectors who keep private galleries afloat. It is unashamedly populist, enjoyable, looks great on the wall - and, judging by the selection of work from the first 20 years in the back of the accompanying book (£10), is work that will retain its appeal for many years.

So, three shows that reaffirm how much life and variety there is left in the still photograph. And while you're on your photographic tour of Greater Manchester, try and catch the following:

A Long Exposure - 100 years of Guardian photography; dramatic and compelling work from the seven northern staffers. The Lowry until 1st March 2009 (review to follow).

Seba Kurtis - 700 Miles, exploring the lives of Mexican people living in the US. Kiosk, until 16th November.

Manchester Mega-Photo - Aidan O’Rourke’s giant collage of the view from Beetham Tower - can you spot your house? Urbis until 1st December.

Manchester and New York - Jan Chlebik, one of Manchester’s great and consistently inventive photographic talents, launches the new gallery Artland with photographs of the two cities. Artland until until 13th December.

Ancoats: Manchester’s Little Italy - historical show. MOSI until 25th January 2009.

(Review by Paul Herrmann)
Links

Borderland
Pilgrims and Peregrines
SUN
A Long Exposure
Seba Kurtis
Manchester Mega-Photo
Manchester and New York
Ancoats