209 Women x Metro Imaging

On 14 December 1918 women in the United Kingdom voted for the first time, and in the same year the first female MP was elected. Launching 14 December 2018, 209 Women marks that significant moment in history, whilst also highlighting the ongoing need for further gender equality across society and politics. Metro Imaging is delighted to be collaborating with this landmark project and its dedicated photographers.

As an all-female photography initiative, portraits of all 209 women MPs have been exclusively shot by women artists. These images will be displayed in a free, public exhibition opening on 14 December — 100 years to the day that the first women cast their votes in the 1918 UK general election. The photographs will be displayed firstly at Portcullis House, Houses of Parliament, before travelling North to Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool in the New Year.

Metro is honoured to support and work with the team- including Hilary Wood , Cheryl Newman, Tracy Marshall and Lisa Tse – behind 209 Women in producing high-end, archival prints, expertly finished in Box Frames for their inaugural exhibition.

“The idea for the exhibition came from my own experiences of gender inequality. I’ve worked mainly in male-dominated fields for the past 18 years. I’ve got two daughters and I wanted to be part of changing things so that they grow up in a society that is more gender equal. Since 1918, 4,503 men have been elected to the UK parliament – compared to just 491 women. On the centenary year of women’s suffrage, I wanted to celebrate how far we’ve come, but I also want to bring awareness to continued gender inequality by championing the visibility of women in power. This exhibition will bring visibility to those women that are part of making the fundamental changes to women’s equality.” – Hilary Wood, Founder and Curator.

Although the Suffrage Movement achieved the first votes for women, there is still a long way to go to cement a culture of true gender equality across all spheres of society in the UK, particularly in positions of power. Women MPs only form 32% of the House of Commons.

The project began as a voluntary endeavour, but the team has been working closely with Open Eye Gallery to secure fees for the artists. The initial crowdfunder to raise support for the artists ran over summer 2018, and now the team is welcoming individual exhibition patrons, limited to 209 places.

Exhibition details:

The exhibition will hang in Portcullis House, Westminster from 14th December 2018 until February 2019. You can book your tickets for the free exhibition here.

From February 2019 it will travel to Open Eye Gallery, to be exhibited in partnership with Culture Liverpool.

IMAGES ©

1. Tulip Siddiq MP, photographed by Jillian Edelstein

2. Exhibition installation shot at Portcullis House, taken from Alison Thewliss verified Twitter account @alisonthewliss

3. Exhibition installation shot at Portcullis House, taken from Alejandra Carles Tolra verified Twitter account @acarlestolra

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We offer the following types of printing

Partial photo of a face covered in hundres and thousands printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper which is available in both gloss and a semi matt finish.

C Type Professional Photo Printing

We have been printing the highest quality C-Type prints for decades and digital C-Types produced on our Lambda have the archival and tonal benefits of traditional photographic papers, with the advantages of digital photo printing. C-Types are a conventional photographic print from a digital file, and as such is the most suitable option when printing a colour photograph.

Printing linking you through to our giclee printing service.

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We have Hahnemuhle and Canson Giclée Certified Studio staus and with over 30 years experience in photographic printing we use the most advanced inkjet technologies. Giclée is a gallery-quality inkjet print onto fine art watercolour paper. This is most suitable for art illustrations, but can also be used for colour and B&W photographs.

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Black & White Printing

We have worked in collaboration with Harman Technology to develop genuine B&W silver gelatin Fibre-Based and Resin-Coated photographic prints from digital files. The Resin-Coated is suitable for most types of B&W printing, and Fibre-Based is ideal for exhibition quality.

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Duratran Printing

We produce Duratrans at a quality level unmatched by anything else out there. Duratrans have to be lit from behind, so need to be mounted in a rear lit display, or we can produce led lightboxes, which are conventional photo frames containing the Duratran and led panel.

Metro called it Direct to Media. Essentially this is a UV printing machine that can produce very large, up to 3m x 2m prints on any flat material less than 10cm thick. So we can print on wood, metal, slate and pretty much anything you can think of.

Direct to Media Printing

Direct to media printing is exactly that; we print your image directly to a substrate of your choice. Be it paper, card, aluminium, Perspex, canvas, wood, slate… Our Jetrix UV inkjet flatbed printer can print on any flat surface up to 3m x 2m, less than 10cm thick. To ensure your material is suitable, we can print test prints around A4 in size.

This is a print on adhesive vinyl. The vinyl is on a roll and 1.2m wide, but it can printed in multiple pieces in order to cover a wall.

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Vinyl Phototex is chosen for its high-quality Giclée finish as well as its ease of application to wall or mounting material due to its self-adhesive properties. We can print on vinyl using our direct to media printer, in strips of 1.5m x 3m and these can be applied to the wall in the fashion of wallpaper to cover a complete wall or interior.

Mounting and framing

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Picture frame hire is a great alternative to our framing service; we offer photo frame hire on a short or long-term basis, for art or photographic projects. Our range of ready-to-go picture frames, come in a range of sizes including 20 x 16, 24×20 and 30×20 inches, and are constructed to our usual high standards.

Picture Framing

Whether you have photographic prints or original art, our bespoke framing service provides expertly hand framed work by our talented finishing team. We have facilities to mount and frame works tup to 10ft x 6ft.

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Photographic mounting is a great way to present your photographs for exhibitions or the home. Surfaces such as MDF and foamex are prized for durability, MDF for rigidity, Foamboard for lightweight versatility. Reverse Perspex is ideal for vibrant colours and aluminium adds a modern twist.