Candid camera

Part of the power of photographs is their ability to transport viewers somewhere unfamiliar, to give them access to worlds they wouldn't otherwise visit or see. Those places can be distant warzones and sites devastated by natural disasters, but they can also be squatter communities in southern California, abandoned honeymoon resorts in Pennsylvania, prisons, behind the scenes at Elvis conventions...

The pictures in Samantha Jagger's exhibition Loosen Up take half of the population somewhere they'll never go: inside ladies' loos. Looking at them as a man, it's hard not to feel at best slightly uncomfortable and at worst positively voyeuristic. But they also evoke what can only be described as a feeling of mild envy. Female toilets are shown to be not only places of sanctuary, to which women can retreat for respite and where they can both hide away from and prepare for public scrutiny, but also social spaces where friendships are formed, camaraderie develops and the drama of human life plays out. A far cry from the gents' bogs, in which everyone attempts to avoid eye contact and escape as quickly as possible.