What We See is Not Always Black and White

Powerful new exhibition featuring photography from all over the world to challenge visitors’ own beliefs.

A photographer who has worked extensively all over the world for more than 30 years will be bringing some of his most powerful and thought-provoking images to Warrington Museum.

Steve Forrest’s exhibition, What We See is Not Always Black and White, will open on Saturday, 18 January, and run until 20 March.

Delving fully into his archive, the showcase will collect together some of Steve’s most compelling photography – covering everything from foreign wars for major news organisations to the Hollywood celebrities such as Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman, musicians, artists and politicians he has shot for The New York Times.

Steve has also worked for UK government departments, foreign governments and the United Nations, among others, to document significant events all over the world.

The Manchester photographer began to re-examine his work and career and explore new ways to look at contemporary issues affecting society after he recently received an Arts Council grant.

So for the Warrington exhibition, Steve will be displaying 34 photo-montages and eight photos from his archive presented in response to what he sees an ‘increasingly simplified and polarised narrative’ that dominates mainstream news and social media.

Through this retrospective of his own work, he wants to question the effect this ‘simplified dialogue’ has on our perspective on the world and efforts to build a more knowledgeable and fairer society.

There are no answers in this work, but Steve hopes visitors will take a moment to ‘challenge their own prejudices’ concerning the topics on display.