It was lovely during installation to have a passer by immediately recognise Mike Abrahams’ photographs from their connection to North Wales.
Now showing at the Photo North Pop-Up at Kirkgate Market:
Where the Carneddau Meets the Sea by @abrahamsmike
The work captures the coastline of North Wales, documenting the people who live, work and holiday where the mountains meet the sea, reflecting on landscape, community and a deep connection to place.
Part of @situation_leeds Leeds, taking place across May and June.
@leedsmarket
Link to full @situation_leeds listings linktr.ee/situationleeds
Thanks always to @alumnogram
and @freshaire_ltd@_wesfoster_
#PhotoNorth #SituationLeeds #MikeAbrahams #DocumentaryPhotography #KirkgateMarket #LeedsArts #PhotographyExhibition
Holy Week, Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala 1998.
Holy Week or Semana Santa, in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, is a mix of Catholicism blended with traditional Mayan culture. Semana Santa is the time where god sky (Jesucristo nahual) has been sacrificed and his twin brother god earth, the Rilaj Mam, or Maximon, takes over while Jesus awaits resurrection.
1. Community paying their respects to Maximon.
2. Psalm Sunday celebrations.
3. Maximon the cleansing ssaint given cigarettes and alcohol for cleansing.
3. Guardian of Maximon.
4. Maximon and his protectors.
5. Woman paying respects to Maximon.
6. Pilgrim at the washing of Maximon's clothes.
7. Pilgrims with Christ.
8. Bring out Christ's coffin through the streets.
9. Through day and night Christ's coffin is carried through the streets.
10. Through day and night Christ's coffin is carried through the streets.
#Holyweek #easter #semanasanta #santiagoatitlan #guatemala #blackandwhitephotography #shotonfilm #documentaryphotography
Holy Week, Jerusalem 2000.
The Holy Week celebrations this year have been curtailed due to security issues.
1. Pilgrims walk up the Via Dolorosa marking the Stations of the Cross
2. Ethipian pilgrims carry a cross down the Via Dolorosa
3. Pilgrims line the Via Dolorosa marking the Stations of the Cross
4. Greek Orthodox priests walk up the Via Dolorosa marking the Stations of the Cross
5. Pilgrims at the Chapel of the Mocking or The Chapel of the Derision. It commemorates the mocking of Jesus by the Roman soldiers. Under the alter is a fragment of a column said to be the one Jesus sat on when the crown of thorns was palced on his head, The pilgrims believe that by placing their ears on the alter they are in touch with Christ's pain.
6. The Patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Torkom Manoogian and priests.
7. Orthodox nuns make their way from Bethany to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
8. Pilgrims at prayer in the Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery built on the roof of the Holy Sepulchre. The Ethiopians have no property in the Holy Sepulchre only access rights and have a small monastery Deir es-Sultan on the roof of a small annex.
9. Pilgrim receiving the Holy Fire during Easter celebrations in the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Israel. Within the Orthodox tradition the Holy Fire is a miracle that happens on the day preceeding Orthodox Easter, in which a blue light emanates within Christ's tomb rising from the stone upon which Jesus's body was reputedly placed before burial. The blue light becomes a column of fire from which candles are lit.
10. Pilgrim receiving the Holy Fire during Easter celebrations in the Holy Sepulchre.
#holyweek #Jerusalem #documentaryphotography #blackandwhitephotography #shotonfilm #reportagephotography
Looking forward to showing work from my ongoing project "Where The Carneddau Meets The Sea" at @photonothfest in Leeds this week end 13-15th March at The Carriageworks Leeds. I'll be there for the whole programme of great talks and exhibitions. Hope to see you there.
Where The Carneddau
Meets The Sea by @abrahamsmike
Penmaenmawr. Where the quarry clock once marked time, and jetties reached into the sea to carry stone across the world.
A volcanic mountain that shaped Neolithic axes, later transformed into a granite industry that once employed over 1,000 men, now just 20.
The A55, where a wide promenade once stretched. Beach huts, playgrounds, Sambrook’s café, ice creams, jukeboxes, and memories.
A seaside retreat for the well-to-do in the 19th century, inspired by Gladstone himself.
Nearby Dwygyfylchi, from ancient hill forts to today’s Dwygi Dashers.
The Carneddau, home to roaming sheep, wild ponies, and endless horizons.
Granite headlands. Mountain backdrops. Two villages shaped by land, sea, and time.
This is where my mother found refuge from the Liverpool bombings.
Where strangers became family.
Where safety, love, and belonging were found.
These are the stories we celebrate.
These are the places we honour.
Mike with be exhibiting at Photo North Festival, come and meet him and have a natter!
Join us at the festival 13-15th March -
link in bio.
Thanks to @alumnogram
#Penmaenmawr #Carneddau #PhotoFestival #StoryOfPlace #WelshCoast #LandscapeAndMemory #Heritage #PhotographyFestival #BookNow
Evidence is out now. Link in bio.
Gold Rush in Diwalwal by Mike Abrahams @abrahamsmike
In the mid 1980s gold was discovered on the steep slopes of the mountain and within months thousands of people had arrived with picks, hammers and chisels and started burrowing into the mountain in the hope of attaining a new found freedom and wealth. It was the start of the 20th century’s greatest and most dangerous gold rush. People came from desperation and greed. Even soldiers and policemen arrived to dig alongside communists and separatist rebels. In five years Diwalwal’s population boomed to 80,000 - mostly miners living in shanties along the 2 km logging road where the gold seams were located.
50 AT FIFTY PRINT SALE NOW OPEN!
@fourcornerse2 landmark anniversary print sale fundraiser is now live. You can now purchase prints on our online store via the link in our bio or on our website.
/shop
Act now to acquire your favourite print for £50 or purchase the full 50 At Fifty Collection for just £2,000
To mark 50 years of Four Corners, 50 celebrated photographers have donated to our landmark print sale fundraiser.
For two weeks only, you’ll have the chance to own a beautiful fine art print by one of 50 acclaimed image-makers — for just £50.
Every print sold will help keep Four Corners open — funding free creative programmes, community projects, exhibitions and affordable artist spaces.
We urgently need your support to continue our work nurturing independent film and photography in the UK.
Spread the word.
Help us celebrate 50 years — and secure the next 50.
Follow the link in our bio to purchase the prints
#50ATFIFTY
Mike’s beautifully heartfelt series Where The Carneddau Meets The Sea coming to the next Photo North Festival.
@abrahamsmike
Sponsored by @alumnogram
#Carneddau #mikeabrahams #photography #leeds #photonorthfestival
Llanfaifechan, North Wales 1/2025.
Celebrating the successful end to the annual Carneddau wild pony gathering.
Down the pub.
#carneddau #carneddauponies #llanfairfechan #northwales #farmers
Remembrance Sunday, 2025, Penmaenmawr, North Wales.
A moving day when the village came out to remember where solemnity and the spirit of community came onto the street. For a village of only 4,500 the number of names read out who had been lost in war was astounding. It gave for long period of contemplation. The world said "Never Again" but too many people nowadays seem to have forgotten why that war was fought.
