We’re All Going On A Summer Holiday!
Curated by Peter Barr
This exhibition takes inspiration from a 1963 movie Summer Holiday song lyric, inviting viewers to travel the globe imaginatively through historical images.
I selected and arranged these photographs primarily to encourage travel. While real-life trips pose challenges like cost and risk, they also offer lasting benefits to travelers such as increased self-confidence, openness to new experiences, and empathy for others. Moreover, taking a break fromeveryday routines, whether to visit distant lands or simply to view these photographs, provides everyone with an opportunity to reduce stress and boost happiness.
This exhibition also highlights how photographs carry multiple meanings. While photographic content might seem objective, each viewer brings personal connotations. For example, the photograph Resting Bedouins near the Great Pyramid of Giza includes various details that might trigger curiosity or concern over stereotypes, or even melancholic memories.
The exhibition’s title itself illustrates shifting cultural meanings since “We’re all going on a summer holiday” has been reinterpreted many times over the last sixty years. Originally an optimistic anthem in the 1963 film starring Cliff Richard, the phrase was later used ironically by Elvis Costello in his 1978 song “The Beat,” and referenced in MC Miker G & DJ Sven’s 1986 “Holiday Rap” as well as a recent public-health “alcoholiday” campaign. These adaptations demonstrate the enduring flexibility of both the song and the exhibition’s photographs.
As you view these images, let your own memories and perspectives shape your experience, considering whatever feelings, thoughts and desires they might spark in you.
View the entire collection here