Exhibition captures ‘soul’ of cider

Falling Apples

Anyone with an interest in the wonderful images that the cider industry can provide will be sure to want to visit an exhibition in Taunton that opens on July 3 and runs until the end of August.

Held at The Brewhouse theatre and arts centre (http://www.thebrewhouse.net) it will showcase the remarkable work of local photographer Bill Bradshaw who over the past six years has been capturing the magic of cider and the cider making process in Somerset and has now put much of this work together in the IAMCIDER exhibition.

'There is no time frame or limit to IAMCIDER, because it is a very personal exploration fuelled by a fascination of what Cider is, who we are and our relationship with it,' said Bill.

'The result is an eclectic collection of photographs, from annual wassails and apple days, devout mummers, to the faces (and hands) of cidermakers, IAMCIDER is contemporary, honest, familiar and passionate, it explores Somerset's legendarycider heritage,its unmistakable landscape, its people, traditions and places within.'

Bill got introduced to the cider world when artist Kate Lynch approached him about documenting the 'Apple Villages'; a heritage project that engaged over 120 school children in five apple-growing parishes on the Somerset Levels & Moors, led by Kate and author James Crowden. The aim was to encourage the children not only to write original and lively poetry, but also to draw and illustrate their very personal observations of orchards, apples and Cider making.Inspired by the work of Common Ground, it was hoped this project will act as a catalyst for similar initiatives.

The end of this project became the starting point for IAMCIDER and since then Bill has been looking deeper into our Cider culture, the places and characters involved and modern techniques.

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