Through The Lens of Esther Anderson – Bob Marley: The Early Years Exhibition – Muswell Hill Gallery, London

The Salterton Arts Review ventures to Muswell Hill to survey a collection of photographs by Esther Anderson – photographer, filmmaker and entrepreneur.

Through the Lens of Esther Anderson

I have a new gallery to put on your radar: the Muswell Hill Gallery in North London.  I had my first visit there yesterday evening to share in the busy opening of a new exhibition of photography by Esther Anderson.

If you’re not familiar with Esther Anderson, she is also one to have on your cultural radar.  The now octogenarian is a pioneering Black female artist, entrepreneur and filmmaker.  The exhibition comprises a dozen or so images of Bob Marley: as one of the founders of Island Records, Anderson collaborated with him closely.  Her images were the covers of the first two albums on Island Records: Catch a Fire and Burnin’.  

The curated selection of works on view at Muswell Hill Gallery reflects Anderson and Marley’s connection and mutual trust.  They depict Marley relaxed and at ease. They also situate him firmly within a Jamaican context.  As a fellow Jamaican, Anderson had an artistic vision of Marley under the light of their home country.  The soft colours of the sky and shore show how this vision came to life.

“I wanted to photograph him in the light of Jamaica, showing the colour of our skin the way it should be shown.”

Esther Anderson

Bob Marley: The Early Years Exhibition

The exhibition is simple and straightforward.  There is limited printed information, so it’s mostly getting close up with the works themselves.  To aid my viewing on opening night, I had the good fortune of hearing first hand from Anderson about her work.  Her understanding of her inspiration, vision and worth as an artist is illuminating. Not everyone will have this opportunity, but even a cursory bit of research about her reveals an impressive and inspiring woman.  Her art goes beyond aesthetics to incorporate politics and the rebellion of the era.  It is doubtless this that has propelled some of her images to iconic status.

Because of the scale and simplicity of the exhibition, I recommend it most highly to North London locals and those who have a particular interest in Anderson or Marley.  But even casual visitors will enjoy her candid and stripped back photographic style: that they portray such a well-known figure is almost a bonus.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

Through the Lens of Esther Anderson – Bob Marley: The Early Years Exhibition on until 20 June 2024