Thoughts and comments by the artist about his current work.
Current work
My current work is defined by two areas of subject - Objects and Places.
While Objects are unquestionably a continuation of my still life discipline, Places reflect the outside world as interesting subject matter to reconstruct. In essence however, places become objects too.
I have a number of pieces of work in progress. These represent the latest development of my aesthetic and may or may not become finished works. What defines finished is difficult to say. When a piece appears to be fully expressing all it can - then maybe its complete. Interestingly, the unfinished state of all pieces seems to allow for a multiplicity of divergent creative opportunities.
A concurrent series of works called ‘Revisited’ looks back at earlier pieces which where produced for another purpose and attempts to rebuild the inherent visual qualities as a new dynamic. This reflects on my philosophy of re-presenting the world, but in this case it reconstructs the already constructed world that particular image presents.
Shadow as subject matter
The qualities of light and how it can be manipulated has been a fascination of mine ever since I discovered a passion for the medium. It is after all, everything that photography is. My obsession with photography has light and the resultant shadow, as the core of my visual language. So much so that I read shadow as subject matter, as an object, to be captured. As a student I experimented with no subject, only tonal values, formed by light and variable exposure to get as close to a photographic abstraction as is possible. I realised, using any object and light, I can create a third powerful element within a composition changing the dynamic of the object. The resulting image is not about the object anymore, its more about the whole, the image itself. This I believe is closer to producing a picture with paint rather than the camera!
My current experimentation with compilations provides me with a secondary dimension to my aesthetic control. After a life long discipline of making the perfect singular image within the confines of a single frame I am able to expand the physical boundaries and limitations of the photograph.