Belfast Exposed

Exhibitions

3rd Aug - 16th Sep

Belfast Exposed Presents: Portrait of Belfast

BELFAST EXPOSED PRESENTS: PORTRAIT OF BELFASTTo accompany Portrait of Humanity Vol. 5, Belfast Exposed is inviting Northe...

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3rd Aug - 16th Sep

Portrait of Humanity Vol. 5

In partnership with the British Journal of PhotographyBelfast Exposed is delighted to be hosting the British Journal of P...

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Community

21st May - 22nd May

Showing the faces of dementia with Alzheimer’s NI

Ahead of the Alzheimer’s Society Annual Conference 2019 (ASAC19), Belfast Exposed was commissioned by Alzheimer’s NI to w...

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4th May - 20th May

Coronation Generation 2023

Bringing together young people from across communities for Coronation GenerationIn April 2023, Belfast Exposed worked wit...

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A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission

Gallery 1

12th Jan 2018 to 24th Feb 2018

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

Artist Biography

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

Artist Talk with Peter Mitchell

Friday 12 January | 1-2pm | Belfast Exposed

Free admission
Curator Tour

Thursday 1 February | 6.30pm | Belfast Exposed

Free admission
Late Night Art

Thursday 1 February | 6-9pm | Belfast Exposed

Free Admission

Acknowledgements

A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission is generously supported by Arts Council Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.