About The Exhibition
Belfast Exposed is delighted to present, A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission by Peter Mitchell, the first major solo exhibition of the British colour documentary photographer on the island of Ireland.
A fan of aviation since childhood and inspired by the US Viking space missions, which landed observation ‘landers’ on the surface of Mars for the first time in the 1970’s, Mitchell adopts the notion that an ‘alien’ from Mars has returned to earth, and is exploring the urban landscape with a degree of surprise and puzzlement. Combining vernacular images of his hometown of Leeds, with landscapes of Mars sourced from NASA, A New Refutation presents the everyday scenes and people that Mitchell passed on a daily basis whilst working as a truck driver in the city. The series of photographs take the form of a survey of planet earth, made up of observations and documents collected by this ‘alien’ wanderer.
First exhibited at the Impressions Gallery in November 1979, this groundbreaking project lay dormant for many years before touring to Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2016, and finally being published by RRB Photobooks in April 2017.
The Artists
Peter Mitchell
Born in 1943, Peter Mitchell has been quietly building a career for over 40 years. Living and working in Leeds for much of his life, Mitchell treats his surroundings with a unique sense of care that is evident in his work. Originally a civil servant in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Whitehall, he then went on to study at the Hornsey College of Art in London, before moving to Leeds in 1972. Working as a truck driver, he began photographing the city on his rounds, capturing images of the factories and small shop owners. His first solo exhibition A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission at the Impressions Gallery in 1979 propelled Mitchell’s work to be viewed an essential part of the colour documentary scene, and has had an immeasurable impact on contemporary photographic culture.
Events
Friday 12 January | 1-2pm | Belfast Exposed
Free admissionThursday 1 February | 6.30pm | Belfast Exposed
Free admissionThursday 1 February | 6-9pm | Belfast Exposed
Free AdmissionAcknowledgements
A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission is generously supported by Arts Council Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.