In the frame

The one good thing about Angela Merkel’s coalition troubles is that we, in London, have the Ammons in post for a little longer. And that means you have until mid-January to see Human, the thought-provoking multi-media exhibition of female artists at the German Residence including sculpture, paintings and photography.

Noteworthy for diplomatic audiences are two dramatically different photo exhibitions by diplomatic spouses. The first is Christine Bory, wife of the Ambassador of Luxembourg (formerly in London and now based in Brussels). The exhibition shows the inner lives of diplomatic spouses away from the stereotypical public personae and examines how spouses keep the continuity of their identity in a series of discontinuous posts over a lifetime.

One of the more unusual photos in the series is that of Margarita Mavromichalis, wife of the Greek Ambassador, pictured in a back alley with her SLR camera at the ready. Margarita is a documentary street photographer, who ventures out of the safe diplomatic quarter and into the slums and back alleys of the cities she visits, unobtrusively capturing fleeting moments that draw you in and tell a story. The daughter and now the wife of a diplomat, her peripatetic life has taken her around the world, from India to Ethiopia, Cuba, Vietnam and of course her native Greece, where a searing photograph of a Syrian refugee on Lesvos is so reminiscent of Steve McCurry’s National Geographic cover of an Afghan girl. A natural observer with an instinctive understanding of people, her photos combine curiosity, intensity and intrigue and are always thought-provoking.

German Residence, 22 Belgrave Square, London, SW1X 8PZ. The exhibition is by appointment only. To arrange a time contact l-110@lond.auswaertiges-amt.de

PHOTO ABOVE: Boy in Ethiopia, photographed by Margarita Mavromichalis

Christine Bory at her solo