MEMBERS of a Darlington group have spent two years working on an exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the town's public darkrooms.

The exhibition is called The Persistence of Memory and the title was chosen to allow full scope to the photographic talent of the Darlington Media Group. Work on display ranges from platinum prints on hand-coated paper that employ techniques pioneered in the early days of photography, to the latest digital imaging.

Interpretations of the title are as varied as the techniques: memories as baggage, ancestral portraits, childhood memories, crystals, Paris, memorable places and illustrated dictionary definitions of attitude are all interwoven into a varied celebration of the photograph.

The exhibition at Darlington Arts Centre, will be opened by Peter Cutchie, head of arts and theatre at Darlington Borough Council, at 7.30pm tonight. It runs until March 31