Collection GB 3184 EVC - The Elephant Vanishes Collection

7 boxes

The Elephant Vanishes was an annual project run between 2004 - 2012 by MA Photojournalism and Documentary (MAPD) at London College of Communication, Universty of the Arts London. Professor Patrick Sutherland was Director of the ‘Elephant Project’ and Course Leader on MAPD.

The project used photograpahy to document changes to the local area in Elephant and Castle between 2004-2015. This includes studies made before and after the demolition of 1212 flats in the Heygate Estate, the now dormant pedestrian subways and a number of the largely black and minority ethnic (BAME) independant businesses in and around the Elephantand Castle shopping centre. These works were all made between 2004–2015 by alumnus of the LCC’s MAPD course who had contributed to the long-term project to document the area. Collaborators on the project include a number of artists, curators and practitioners, including; Val Williams, Tom Hunter, Brigitte Lardinois, Peter Fraser, Paul Lowe and Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin.

A selection of these works has previously been exhibited in the local subways, and published in the books ‘Community’ (2008), ‘Home’ (2008) and ‘Economy’ (2012).

PARC already held a number of unique papers, books and ephemera that formed a significant resource relating to its base in the Elephant & Castle area, including bodies of work by new and emerging photographers, e.g., ‘Heygate: A Natural History’ by Matthew Benjamin Coleman (exhibited at PARC in 2018), ‘Where They Sleep’ by Douglas Abuelo (featured in the 2005 exhibition ‘How We Are: Photographing Britain’ (Tate Britain) and established community-based artists, e.g., The People’s Bureau (Moose on the Loose Biennale of Research, 2014), ‘Portraits from the Elephant’ by Almudena Romero (The Elephant Studio, 2017) and ‘From a Distance’ by Paul Reas (commissioned by PARC in 2012) collected in the publication ‘Fieldstudy’.

In 2015, Professor Patrick Sutherland, Director of the ‘Elephant Project’ and Course Leader on the LCC’s MA Photojournalism and Documentary (MAPD) course donated more than 150 photographic works to UAL Photography and the Archive Research Centre.

This archive was donated to the University Archvies and Special Collections Centre in 2019 as part of a larger deposit of PARC holdings.

The Elephant Vanishes Collection shows people’s lives, homes and communities in and around the Elephant & Castle at a rapid time of change and expansion (2004–2018) in Southwark, south London. The three most dominant themes of heritage are the histories of people, community and buildings.

Projects include; Paul Reas ‘From a Distance’ (commissioned by UAL Photography and the Archive Research Centre, 2012) and material published by UAL in the books ‘Community’ (2008), ‘Home’ (2008) and ‘Economy’ (2012). Also included is documentation for the UAL PARC’s own collaborations and commissions on the Elephant & Castle including; workshops, study days, interventions, publications and film made with a host of practitioners (e.g., The People’s Bureau, Tate Modern and Southwark Council).

As collection is not fully catalogued, access is granted at archivist's discretion.

The University Archives and Special Collections Centre is open Monday - Friday 1pm-4pm. It is advisable to book an appointment in advance via email.

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