Artists Talk: materials
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I create works that lean on the borders of photographic processes, materials and technologies, examining thresholds of time and place. Currently, I am in the process of making new work, testing installation-based pieces that explored ideas of materiality, experience and duration. I recently installed a wall-based work that consists of sheets of steel and brass arranged with black and white photographs of undulating patterns of waves. The warm brass sheets ripple reflected light as the viewer traverses the piece, which allude to the motion of water and reflected light on its surface. This new work expands on my interest in the tension between stillness and movement, between moments in time and the unexpected connections between materials.
2. dO THE MATERIALS THAT YOU USE HAVE A VALUE IN THEMSELVES OR ARE THEY JUST A MEANS TO AN END?
The materials I work with hold a value. The way in which materials react, reveal and resist different conditions and interventions is a lot to do with the concept of the work. My series White Wall (2007-2013) is a 35mm slide projection piece, which is the result of documenting the changing light conditions on a white wall across the period of a day. A slide of the wall is taken at set intervals between sunrise to sunset. The film makes visible the usually unseen colour shifts that occur as daylight passes. The works are then re-projected onto a wall, creating a gap between real time and recorded time. The camera, film and the projector place a frame around the external world, creating a perception on the rich and shifting environment that we are a part of.
The question of value is also a very pertinent question in regards to the major value shift in photographic material in the industry today as analogue material is now marginalised by the digital. In working with both analogue and digital technologies I see a space for investigation that considers an equivalence of these technologies, one not replacing or superseding the other but instead providing new and shared economies of ‘material time’, that support, affirm and redress our connection to photography. My series Developing Still (2008) is created from a video recording of an Instant Polaroid developing in real time, which is paused during the processing time to be transformed into a printed image. The works show ephemeral aspects of both the physical environment and the photographic medium, alluding to that which is ungraspable, teetering between an emergence, a disappearance and a presence. Shortly after beginning this series, Polaroid the company filled for bankruptcy, announcing it would cease production of the film; this added another unexpected dimension to the work. Similar, my work Conditions (2012 – ongoing) explore a displacement of time, geography and technology. An image that was first captured during daylight on medium format slide film is then re-photographed on a window at night through a digital SLR camera. The transparency is illuminated both by moonlight and the artificial light pollution from the city at night. In early March 2012, Kodak discontinued its remaining slide films.
The question of value is also a very pertinent question in regards to the major value shift in photographic material in the industry today as analogue material is now marginalised by the digital. In working with both analogue and digital technologies I see a space for investigation that considers an equivalence of these technologies, one not replacing or superseding the other but instead providing new and shared economies of ‘material time’, that support, affirm and redress our connection to photography. My series Developing Still (2008) is created from a video recording of an Instant Polaroid developing in real time, which is paused during the processing time to be transformed into a printed image. The works show ephemeral aspects of both the physical environment and the photographic medium, alluding to that which is ungraspable, teetering between an emergence, a disappearance and a presence. Shortly after beginning this series, Polaroid the company filled for bankruptcy, announcing it would cease production of the film; this added another unexpected dimension to the work. Similar, my work Conditions (2012 – ongoing) explore a displacement of time, geography and technology. An image that was first captured during daylight on medium format slide film is then re-photographed on a window at night through a digital SLR camera. The transparency is illuminated both by moonlight and the artificial light pollution from the city at night. In early March 2012, Kodak discontinued its remaining slide films.
3. please could you discuss any correlation between ideology and materials in your practice
Within my practice ideology and material are intertwined, one influencing the other. Collage on Film (2011-2013), is the result of an analogue photographic process, where handmade masks are placed inside the camera between the lens and film. The masks, made out of paper, have an area cut out allowing light travelling through the lens to expose an area of film. The exposures are gathered from multiple locations across stretches of time. The resulting images show an assemblage of exposed patterns of colour and slices of environments juxtaposed together on a single frame of film. In understanding the analogue process, what is fundamental is the direct contact between light and a light sensitive surface. This moment occurs within the camera. Variables in the process means traces of imperfections and elements of chance are possible and made visible. My intervention of the masks in the camera is another variable and the direct link between these elements reveals a sense of ‘touch’. This is reinforced by the title of the work, emphasising the physical activity of collage and the physical material of film. In this work, the material of film is both the place of action and the documentation of the moments seen through the camera’s viewfinder.
Do you consider what your materials might look like in the future or are you just thinking about how they look when you use them? For example, do you consider whether the materials might change?
Within the process of working with photographic material, there are many transformative moments. When working with analogue photography there is a large part of the process where I am working blind, that is to say I might have an idea for what the camera is capturing but there is also the chance for the unexpected to arise, which when revealed can shape and expand my ideas. I do also consider the longevity of the material, for instance this question is raised when projecting slide film as the light of the projector degrades the image and left projected long enough the image will disappear, which can be a potentially interesting element to the work or just worrying! This degrading of image is also an issue with digital technology, particularly with video files, as the speed in which digital formats change often leave older digital video works either without a way of playing them or in very poor quality.
The medium of photography has continual tension and intrigue in understanding what it is. The framework is in constant flux, because of the constant changes in technology and material. As an artist this is exciting, the challenge in working with it is always being renewed.
Do you consider what your materials might look like in the future or are you just thinking about how they look when you use them? For example, do you consider whether the materials might change?
Within the process of working with photographic material, there are many transformative moments. When working with analogue photography there is a large part of the process where I am working blind, that is to say I might have an idea for what the camera is capturing but there is also the chance for the unexpected to arise, which when revealed can shape and expand my ideas. I do also consider the longevity of the material, for instance this question is raised when projecting slide film as the light of the projector degrades the image and left projected long enough the image will disappear, which can be a potentially interesting element to the work or just worrying! This degrading of image is also an issue with digital technology, particularly with video files, as the speed in which digital formats change often leave older digital video works either without a way of playing them or in very poor quality.
The medium of photography has continual tension and intrigue in understanding what it is. The framework is in constant flux, because of the constant changes in technology and material. As an artist this is exciting, the challenge in working with it is always being renewed.
4. do you consider what you materials might look like in the future, or are you just thinking about how they look when you use them? for example, do you consider whether the materials might change?
Within the process of working with photographic material, there are many transformative moments. When working with analogue photography there is a large part of the process where I am working blind, that is to say I might have an idea for what the camera is capturing but there is also the chance for the unexpected to arise, which when revealed can shape and expand my ideas. I do also consider the longevity of the material, for instance this question is raised when projecting slide film as the light of the projector degrades the image and left projected long enough the image will disappear, which can be a potentially interesting element to the work or just worrying! This degrading of image is also an issue with digital technology, particularly with video files, as the speed in which digital formats change often leave older digital video works either without a way of playing them or in very poor quality.
The medium of photography has continual tension and intrigue in understanding what it is. The framework is in constant flux, because of the constant changes in technology and material. As an artist this is exciting, the challenge in working with it is always being renewed.
The medium of photography has continual tension and intrigue in understanding what it is. The framework is in constant flux, because of the constant changes in technology and material. As an artist this is exciting, the challenge in working with it is always being renewed.
5. are your materials significant in how you identify yourself as an artist?
Ultimately I think it does. I don’t feel limited to sticking to only certain types of material but whatever material I choose, it is a significant part of my way of looking, thinking and responding to the world.