BNG East is located on the ground floor of Bridge House, at 1, Bridge Street. This 17th century building was formerly the residence of several Governors and indeed, it is one of the most handsome houses in St George's. However, should you not know the house, you might have some difficulty locating it, for Bridge Street presently has no street sign. It is small things like that, which need attention. (It’s just to the east of King's Square and across from Somers Market store.) There is a BNG East sign on the gate pillar to help you locate it.It is of interest that from 1975 to 2003, the space held by BNG East was known as the Bridge House Gallery. Initiated by a host of prominent artists such as Alfred Birdsey, Hereward T. Watlington and Sam Morse Brown, the gallery was managed by artists Jill Amos Raine and her late husband David Raine.For a number of years in my art reviews, whenever appropriate, I have pointed out that St George's is a gold mine waiting to be excavated. In my view, it is one of the key areas for the revitalisation of tourism, however the town needs a lot of TLC. I was pleased to see in a recent Royal Gazette article that the Premier had paid St George's a visit and had seen firsthand the obvious neglect, so hopefully something positive will now take place. Certainly, BNG East is a move in the right direction.The inaugural exhibition for the just-opened gallery is a continuation of the ongoing BNG series ‘Contemporary Conversations’ and in this instance, it showcases examples of the photographs of James Cooper.This is a contentious show, with many liking it and others finding it problematic. The fact that the audience response is varied, is, in my view, indicative of a provocative, challenging exhibition. Should you find the Cooper's show difficult to fathom, I advise spending time with it. If what you see makes you angry or upsets you in some way, pay attention. Something important may be going on.I have to confess, at first I was not exactly enthusiastic about this show, but, following my own advice, I have spent a fair amount of time viewing it, all the while gaining new insights and understandings. Writing art reviews, including the James Cooper show has been for me, an ongoing course in contemporary art. Cooper's work, while rooted in Dada and Surrealism, especially brings to mind the playfulness and wit of Marcel Duchamp. Still, as the artist has said, he is not trying to create a movement and from what I know about him, I don't suppose he is consciously trying to follow or imitate any particular artist either. We artists arrive at what we do often unconscious of our influences, as if we breathe them in from the general cultural atmosphere.James Cooper is no ordinary photographer. Yes, he uses ordinary, common objects and even the local environment, but he does so in extraordinary ways to offset and maybe upset our perceptions. At the same time he displays his photographs in simple white frames which gives his work an aura of coolness and sophistication.The exhibition consists of 24 photographs and one installation. Several of the photographs were taken underwater and for me, these are the ones I most favour. In their colourfulness they are also the ones most visually pleasing and easily understood. Probably for many, the more difficult ones are the two self portraits, one with a tea bag dangling in front of his face, the other with ice cubes covering his face. Also challenging is the gilded fish titled ‘Fish Head Fetish’.Many will recall, especially as children, giving ourselves a seaweed beard or ragged sargassum hairstyle, but as you enter the gallery, you are confronted by a photograph of what appears to be a total seaweed man, for the person pictured is almost completely covered in seaweed and looks more like a bear or maybe a yeti than anything else.Included in the exhibition are ten postcard size photographs entitled, ‘Everyone Takes the Same Pictures’. As suggested, on show are typical tourist views of Bermuda, but each are modified in some way, in order to jolt our perception of the familiar. I see these more as studies of future projects, where the actual landscape or piece of architecture could be manipulated, possibly in the manner of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who became famous for wrapping up buildings, islands and cliffs etc.There are two large spaces at BNG East and a third, smaller room. Here Cooper has made an installation using multicoloured inflatable swimming rings that he has hung from the ceiling. The interplay of the translucent rings with the ceiling lights is magical.Although Cooper's work is sophisticated, there is likewise something childlike about his creations. It seems he has not lost his youthful sense of play or wonder. Hopefully viewers of this exhibition will also regain, even if momentarily, their sense of wonder as well.The BNG East James Cooper Exhibition continues through November 23, 2013.BNG East is open every day except Mondays. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays, the gallery is open from 11am to 4pm, but on Thursday and Friday, it is open from 11am to 6pm. Admission is free and free car parking is just around the corner.