The book is not available just yet, but you can pre-order it on Amazon. I didn't get a chance to look at it properly, but it's a nice layout, with lots of visuals, and seems an ideal resource for students.
Friday, 9 March 2012
I better get blogging!
Yesterday, I saw a copy of a new book on research methods, written by Anna Fox and Natasha Caruana, called Behind the Image. I feel very honoured as my blog is featured as resource, complete with screen grabs of some of my posts. But also feeling the pressure slightly, as now I better get blogging some good stuff...
The book is not available just yet, but you can pre-order it on Amazon. I didn't get a chance to look at it properly, but it's a nice layout, with lots of visuals, and seems an ideal resource for students.
The book is not available just yet, but you can pre-order it on Amazon. I didn't get a chance to look at it properly, but it's a nice layout, with lots of visuals, and seems an ideal resource for students.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Sun sculptures
It seems apt that I should write this in what seems to be the first weekend of Spring! Tom Lovelace's new work is exactly what it says on the tin; sculptures created by the sun. Such a simple idea, and stripping photography back to its basic principle.
These are found objects; old noticeboards which have been faded by the sun. The bare principle of a photogram, naturally conceived; the darker patches indicate where the notices have been placed, and the baize around them has faded over time. I love the simplicity of these, there's a real sense of layering and of the passing of time. They are aesthetically beautiful, too, the orginial fabric a deep green colour which fades in varying hues. They are exhibited in floating dark wooden box frames, which complement the colour and make them feel precious somehow.
This is a bit of a departure for Tom, whose work up until now has been highly constructed images of machines which he has built himself. They are being exhibited as part of Free Frame, a group exhibition which is well worth seeing at SON Gallery in Peckham, until 31 March.
These are found objects; old noticeboards which have been faded by the sun. The bare principle of a photogram, naturally conceived; the darker patches indicate where the notices have been placed, and the baize around them has faded over time. I love the simplicity of these, there's a real sense of layering and of the passing of time. They are aesthetically beautiful, too, the orginial fabric a deep green colour which fades in varying hues. They are exhibited in floating dark wooden box frames, which complement the colour and make them feel precious somehow.
This is a bit of a departure for Tom, whose work up until now has been highly constructed images of machines which he has built himself. They are being exhibited as part of Free Frame, a group exhibition which is well worth seeing at SON Gallery in Peckham, until 31 March.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Experimenting with Photography
Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of chairing a talk on the theme "experimenting with photography". I organised the talk after I noticed that this seemed to concern quite a few of the members who entered this year's Members exhibition at Photofusion, which I curated. Photographers are making photograms, experimenting with colour and paper in the darkroom, writing on photos, manipulating them digitally to create something else... it is almost as if, with the ubiquity of digital imaging, photographers are striving to create something new and original.
This trend was reflected in the final selection for the exhibition; four out of eleven of the exhibitors are experimenting with the photograph in some way. Jeremy Akerman takes pictures of landscapes or urban scenes, cuts them, and then pastes the pieces back together in a different order. The resulting images are still recognisable as landscapes, but something has happened to them; the act of destroying the surface of the print and then re-creating them adds another dimension to the image. Chloe Sells creates large colour prints in the darkroom, in which she plays with the light with prisms to create blocks of coloured light leaks. She also manipulates the surface of the image by folding the paper while printing, so concealing parts of the photograph.
Judith Lyons and Eva Stenram use digital techniques in order to create their work, although they have both used analogue processes in previous projects. Lyons uses images of ova, sperm and foetuses to create digitally constructed montages, one for each month of the gestation period. Stenram's image, Drape, is a digitally manipulated vintage pin-up photograph, in which she uses digital technology to lengthen a curtain in the image, so that it drapes over the model and conceals her assets. Last night she also introduced us to new work, in which she finds hard core pornographic images on the internet, and removes the bodies to create the scene as if they were never there.
All photographers seemed to agree that their processes were about questioning the inherent meaning of truth which is linked to photography, and yet their reasoning for this was varied. Judith Lyons challenges the relationship between the image and the subject matter characteristic of photography; the fact that you can't photograph something which is not there. Eva Stenram is interested in the fact that photos can be changed again and again, and that, even if they don't pretend to be real, viewers tend to look twice.
For Jeremy Akerman, his cutting and pasting of photographs is a quest to get back to the physicality of the picture. Quoting Susan Sontag, who back in 1977 mentioned there were too many images in the world, and that was before the advent of digital photography, Akerman pointed out that the photographic surface was dead; most images we see nowadays are on a screen. For him, and for Chloe Sells, it is the surface of the photograph which is interesting.
This theme of experimenting with photography was also being explored at London Art Fair's Photo50 exhibition, curated by Sue Steward. I was excited about seeing this exhibition, entitled The New Alchemists - a reference to the old fashioned, analogue methods of photography - and I was expecting great things. But I was disappointed.
Many of the photographers I was familiar with; Julie Cockburn, Noemie Goudal, Joy Gregory and Esther Teichmann amoungst others. And maybe it's for this reason that nothing surprised me, nothing wowed me. Even Cockburn's work, which I love but had never seen in "real life" disappointed me. The highlight was Noemie Goudal's image, which certainly does trick the eye and successfully comments on the belief that a photograph is authoritative proof.
This idea of playing with the surface of the image and of creating camera-less images is nothing new; the Surrealists were all over it in the 1920's and artists have working in this way ever since. But there does seem to be more experimentation these days, and if I had the task of curating an exhibition of artists working in this way, there are ones that I would have chosen that are exploring the surface of the image in new ways. Carolle Benitah, for example, with her embroidery over old family pictures. I also think that the digital "alchemists" need to get a look in, too; it's not just about collage, or mixed media, but it's about experimenting with new processes in the way Eva Stenram and Judith Lyons do.
At the end of the talk the other evening, I asked the panel whether they considered themselves to be artists or photographers. They all said they were artists, which I found interesting. But of course they are; there's no decisive moment in their work, they use photography to create something else. And it got me thinking; could this distinction be as simple as Artists Make, Photographers Take? Or is it a way for photographers to get into the art market, as we all know that photography struggles to sell...
Whichever it is, I'm pleased some people are doing it. The work is challenging, inspiring and refreshing in this world of digital imagery. Get crafting, I say.
 |
| ©Chloe Sells |
This trend was reflected in the final selection for the exhibition; four out of eleven of the exhibitors are experimenting with the photograph in some way. Jeremy Akerman takes pictures of landscapes or urban scenes, cuts them, and then pastes the pieces back together in a different order. The resulting images are still recognisable as landscapes, but something has happened to them; the act of destroying the surface of the print and then re-creating them adds another dimension to the image. Chloe Sells creates large colour prints in the darkroom, in which she plays with the light with prisms to create blocks of coloured light leaks. She also manipulates the surface of the image by folding the paper while printing, so concealing parts of the photograph.
 |
| ©Eva Stenram, ©Judith Lyons |
Judith Lyons and Eva Stenram use digital techniques in order to create their work, although they have both used analogue processes in previous projects. Lyons uses images of ova, sperm and foetuses to create digitally constructed montages, one for each month of the gestation period. Stenram's image, Drape, is a digitally manipulated vintage pin-up photograph, in which she uses digital technology to lengthen a curtain in the image, so that it drapes over the model and conceals her assets. Last night she also introduced us to new work, in which she finds hard core pornographic images on the internet, and removes the bodies to create the scene as if they were never there.
All photographers seemed to agree that their processes were about questioning the inherent meaning of truth which is linked to photography, and yet their reasoning for this was varied. Judith Lyons challenges the relationship between the image and the subject matter characteristic of photography; the fact that you can't photograph something which is not there. Eva Stenram is interested in the fact that photos can be changed again and again, and that, even if they don't pretend to be real, viewers tend to look twice.
For Jeremy Akerman, his cutting and pasting of photographs is a quest to get back to the physicality of the picture. Quoting Susan Sontag, who back in 1977 mentioned there were too many images in the world, and that was before the advent of digital photography, Akerman pointed out that the photographic surface was dead; most images we see nowadays are on a screen. For him, and for Chloe Sells, it is the surface of the photograph which is interesting.
This theme of experimenting with photography was also being explored at London Art Fair's Photo50 exhibition, curated by Sue Steward. I was excited about seeing this exhibition, entitled The New Alchemists - a reference to the old fashioned, analogue methods of photography - and I was expecting great things. But I was disappointed.
 |
| ©Noemie Goudal, ©Jeremy Akerman |
Many of the photographers I was familiar with; Julie Cockburn, Noemie Goudal, Joy Gregory and Esther Teichmann amoungst others. And maybe it's for this reason that nothing surprised me, nothing wowed me. Even Cockburn's work, which I love but had never seen in "real life" disappointed me. The highlight was Noemie Goudal's image, which certainly does trick the eye and successfully comments on the belief that a photograph is authoritative proof.
This idea of playing with the surface of the image and of creating camera-less images is nothing new; the Surrealists were all over it in the 1920's and artists have working in this way ever since. But there does seem to be more experimentation these days, and if I had the task of curating an exhibition of artists working in this way, there are ones that I would have chosen that are exploring the surface of the image in new ways. Carolle Benitah, for example, with her embroidery over old family pictures. I also think that the digital "alchemists" need to get a look in, too; it's not just about collage, or mixed media, but it's about experimenting with new processes in the way Eva Stenram and Judith Lyons do.
 |
| ©Carolle Benitah |
At the end of the talk the other evening, I asked the panel whether they considered themselves to be artists or photographers. They all said they were artists, which I found interesting. But of course they are; there's no decisive moment in their work, they use photography to create something else. And it got me thinking; could this distinction be as simple as Artists Make, Photographers Take? Or is it a way for photographers to get into the art market, as we all know that photography struggles to sell...
Whichever it is, I'm pleased some people are doing it. The work is challenging, inspiring and refreshing in this world of digital imagery. Get crafting, I say.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Watch the Birdie...
For a while now I've wanted to get some wedding images onto a tumblr site. I don't necessarily want to market myself as a wedding photographer, but I've been getting a few enquiries and it's a nice way of presenting work.
I've called it Watch the Birdie, inspired by one of my favourite songs to dance to:
Any feedback welcome!
Monday, 16 January 2012
Happy New Year!
Firstly, I'd like to wish you all a rather belated Happy New Year. Only two weeks into 2012, and yet life has well and truly kicked in again after the lethargy and well earned break of the Christmas period. I seem to have done loads already this year; not all photography related, but there is one thing worth mentioning; three of my Retro Girls are being exhibited at Silverprint!
If you don't know it already, you should get to know it. Silverprint is the store for analogue photography supplies; film, photographic paper, chemistry, film cameras and some digital supplies. The welcome wall often features a small photographic exhibition, and when I used to go in there as a student I always thought it would be a cool place to show work. So when they asked me I was delighted, and didn't hesitate to accept.
Retro Girls are up in the store til the middle of February, so if you didn't get to see them in all their framed glory at Collyer Bristow Gallery last Summer, now's your chance! Silverprint is based behind the Old Vic theatre in Waterloo, on Valentine Place.
If you don't know it already, you should get to know it. Silverprint is the store for analogue photography supplies; film, photographic paper, chemistry, film cameras and some digital supplies. The welcome wall often features a small photographic exhibition, and when I used to go in there as a student I always thought it would be a cool place to show work. So when they asked me I was delighted, and didn't hesitate to accept.
Retro Girls are up in the store til the middle of February, so if you didn't get to see them in all their framed glory at Collyer Bristow Gallery last Summer, now's your chance! Silverprint is based behind the Old Vic theatre in Waterloo, on Valentine Place.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Reflections of 2011
2011 has been quite a year. It's the year in which I completed my first major project since leaving my MA, had my first significant exhibition, finally launched Brixton People as a book, got the cover of a national newspaper, was published in an international magazine, began teaching, and, perhaps most significantly, launched Portrait Salon, with friend and fellow photographer James O Jenkins.
It is this last which explains my rather scarce presence on this blog over the last few months. Portrait Salon was taking up an awful lot of my time, but it was well worth it. Set up as a form of Salon de Refusés, we aimed to show the best of the rejected images from the famous Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, hosted every year by the National Portrait Gallery. What began as a little experiment escalated into a publication (designed and published by the lovely lads of Birch Studios) and a very well attended event at the Roxy Bar and Screen in Borough. We were even honoured with the presence of Anne Braybon (commissioner at the NPG), who was very supportive of our endeavors, and the project hasn't seen its end yet; in January we are taking the projection up to Open Eye in Liverpool, where we also give a talk.
This positive response has inspired us to continue this project in 2012. And who knows what else next year will bring? My new year's resolution: read more, write more, think more. Let's see I get on with that one.
In the meantime, I leave you with an image taken during the Festival Arbres et Lumières in Geneva last year. Merry Christmas!
It is this last which explains my rather scarce presence on this blog over the last few months. Portrait Salon was taking up an awful lot of my time, but it was well worth it. Set up as a form of Salon de Refusés, we aimed to show the best of the rejected images from the famous Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, hosted every year by the National Portrait Gallery. What began as a little experiment escalated into a publication (designed and published by the lovely lads of Birch Studios) and a very well attended event at the Roxy Bar and Screen in Borough. We were even honoured with the presence of Anne Braybon (commissioner at the NPG), who was very supportive of our endeavors, and the project hasn't seen its end yet; in January we are taking the projection up to Open Eye in Liverpool, where we also give a talk.
This positive response has inspired us to continue this project in 2012. And who knows what else next year will bring? My new year's resolution: read more, write more, think more. Let's see I get on with that one.
In the meantime, I leave you with an image taken during the Festival Arbres et Lumières in Geneva last year. Merry Christmas!
Saturday, 26 November 2011
BRIXTON PEOPLE: Book Launch
Almost two years have passed since I set up a pop-up studio in Brixon Market and spent a week photographing passers by. And how much the market has changed! Now it is full of award winning eateries, with some of the best independent restaurants in London.
A good time, then, to finally launch the book I have made to go with this project. Do come down to Brixton Village on the evening of Friday 2 December to help me celebrate the occasion at Brick Box, just a couple of units down from where my studio was. There will be a chance to view the book, buy it (just in time for Xmas!) and taste the delights of the market around you... Festivities begin from 7pm.
Wrap up warm, this is a night not to be missed!
A good time, then, to finally launch the book I have made to go with this project. Do come down to Brixton Village on the evening of Friday 2 December to help me celebrate the occasion at Brick Box, just a couple of units down from where my studio was. There will be a chance to view the book, buy it (just in time for Xmas!) and taste the delights of the market around you... Festivities begin from 7pm.
Wrap up warm, this is a night not to be missed!
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