If you are looking for something a little different to do this Easter, and fancy a twenty-first century glimpse of the ancient city of Florence, get yourself to the pretty Thames-side St Peter’s Church, Wallingford in Oxfordshire, with its beautiful stained glass window created by Morris & Co. On Saturday, 20 April 2019 from 3pm-9pm and on Sunday, 21 April 2019 from 12.30pm you will be able to see award winning photographer (and well known drinks blogger), Andrew Barrow (ARPS) debut exhibition Wine Doors Of Florence.
Reflecting everyday life, Wine Doors of Florence illustrates an intriguing aspect of the city. Picturing remnants of the past date that back to a time during the Medici period, in 1559, when a law authorised producers to sell wine from family estates directly to the general public via the cantina or basement of their palazzo. There are now 167 ancient wine doors, or buchette del vino, scattered around Florence, each one a little window onto a bygone era. These tiny doors created so that the citizens of Florence could purchase the finest local wine, directly from the producer, are now often forgotten, frequently ignored and sometimes repurposed, but have now been venerated by the photographer, Andrew Barrow.
The portfolio of photographs is evocative of the history held within the ancient buildings. In our digital age of instant gratification, it often seems that we don’t have time to appreciate the beauty and history around us, and these seemingly insignificant doors act as a veil separating the old from the new!
The Photographer, Andrew Barrow said: “The passing of time has meant that many of these mysterious wine doors have been lost. Easily missed in the streets of Florence, some have been repurposed as restaurant menu shelves, door intercoms or letter boxes, others are evolving as a canvas illuminated with street art; while several are seemingly vandalised, as they fight for space with air-conditioning ducts and gas-meters.”
Andrew Barrow’s Wine Doors Of Florence is a haunting collection, which demonstrates the nostalgia of distant memories while reflecting the evolution of life on the streets of contemporary Florence. The free to visit, pop-up exhibition in Wallingford is an opportunity to see the photographs close up. The Limited Edition Folio Presentation Box, which contains the 14 images on show (along with an artists statement and a map of Florence showing the location of each of the wine doors) will be available at £100.00, while individual images can be purchased at https://andrew-barrow.picfair.com.
Andrew Barrow’s Wine Doors Of Florence communicates a different perspective of Florence, a view away from the mainstream that the artist gained while wandering, seeking the undiscovered. More about the collection and its inspiration can be found at: https://andrewbarrow.co.uk/winedoors-of-florence.