The Longest Goodbye: Son of 80-year-old murder victim Lea Adri-Soejoko memorialises their ‘Life in London’ at this year’s London Photo Show
Image caption: South Kensington Tunnels by Mark Adri-Soejoko
The son of a woman who was murdered on a Colindale allotment in 2017, will display photographs at The London Photo Show from 11th – 14th November, to remember his life in the city, as he leaves to make a new start on the coast.
54-year-old IT support analyst and photographer, Mark Adri-Soejoko, originally from Hendon, has curated the series of atmospheric and emotionally impactful images, entitled ‘Life in London’, as a way of ‘saying goodbye’ to a place that evokes both nostalgia and painful memories of his family life.
After the loss of both of his parents, Mark has set up a new life in Shoreham by Sea with wife Frances and three stepsons. He has used photography as a means of dealing with the difficult emotions he has experienced, talking more on the theme behind the exhibition he explains:
“During lockdown I didn’t pick up my camera for almost a year, but my wife had been encouraging me to do something and seeing the opportunity for an exhibition was a trigger for me, especially with the decision to leave London.
“The pictures relate to memories of my life in London and dealing with the loss of my parents over the last eight years. My father to dementia and illness in 2013, my mother’s murder in 2017 and now my decision to leave London this year.
“I have chosen this subject as a way of saying goodbye and to help me mark the start of my life outside of London. This is about a life in London that is now over. This is my way of saying goodbye.
“The pictures are of things and places that trigger my memories and emotions, both good and bad,” he continues. “This is not a documentary; the memories are sometimes vague and possibly wrong, but they are what I remember right now. They will all touch on my relationship to my recent history.”
For Mark, who has been a photographer for 14 years and who struggled to come to terms with the death of his mother, one picture in particular stands out as a favourite, he continued:
“Of the submitted pictures the image called Sunny Hill Park is closest to being a favourite, it is about holding onto the memory of my mother, the loss, grief, pain. I’m holding a picture of her holding me captured by my father in the same place that picture was taken 54 years ago.”
Mark’s full display can be seen at The London Photo Show which between 11th and 14th November 2021. Now in its sixth year running it gives professional, semi-professional, independent and amateur photographers from all over the world the chance to exhibit their work to the public in a professional and high-profile location.
Show organisers are calling upon photographers of all abilities to enter their best shots, which will be displayed at London’s Bargehouse Gallery, situated in the iconic Oxo Tower Wharf.
Founder and professional photographer, Andrew Mason, who established the photography exhibition in 2016 to put a focus on undiscovered talent, said: “Mark’s exhibition really struck a chord with me, there is such raw emotion found in the images and I hope that the event will help to give him some closure as he starts his new life away from the city.”
Talking of this year’s show Andrew continued: “We can’t wait to bring the show back to the Southbank this November. Even though we managed to run the event last year, it was on a smaller scale, we are hoping this year will be the biggest yet. We are once again looking forward to filling the gallery space at The Bargehouse with authentic, raw, and evocative images, many captured throughout the pandemic.
