┐ Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs └

@ Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, untitled, from the seriesLight of other days, 2009

DIRECT POSITIVE PHOTOGRAPHS, 20 X 24 CM EACH

@ Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, untitled, from the seriesLight of other days, 2009

DIRECT POSITIVE PHOTOGRAPHS, 20 X 24 CM EACH

In “End of an Era” Onorato and Krebs continue to explore the nature of perception, a theme that also distinguishes their most well-known photographic series to date, “The Great Unreal,” produced during their travels through the US. Their illusionistic visual universes and installations thrive on the interplay between the visible and invisible nature of illusion and the encounter of reality and the imagination.
The exhibited photographs and installations reflect the ambivalent role of photography on one hand as a documentary medium used to depict reality and on the other hand as an artistic instrument for the creation of new, dream-like imaginary worlds. The exhibition title “End of an Era” refers to the value of analogue image production, the end of which is constantly being prophesied, particularly since the demise of the pioneer of photography, Kodak.(…)

from here

Their work, very much worth exploring, can be found here

┐ Noel Rodo-Vankeulen └

@ Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, hood, from the series Flower City (work in progress)

@ Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, gray, from the series Flower City (work in progress)

@ Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, twin, from the series Flower City (work in progress)

In Flower City I’m focusing on the area where I live (Brampton, Ontario), a relative nowhere city transformed by a failed greenhouse industry, as a stand in for photographic experience. I’m really interested in how the medium functions as both art and photography, specifically how these two distinct aspects of a greater whole can alter and mediate what we see.
For the whole series I’ve worked with a large format camera and shot everything on black and white film, making the body of work a cryptic play not only on the ambiguous nature of photography itself, but showing the medium’s specific nature of looking. There is something archaic in using a 4×5 camera and how it can render basic and minimal compositions of people, places and objects as almost alien or distanced. In this respect I’ve specifically chosen to photograph subjects that range the gamut from quasi-exotic to the completely mundane. I’m interested in how these two extremes can have the same presence and become almost mythologized or iconic.

excerpt from Mossless magazine

More of Noel’s work here

┐ Melinda Gibson └

© Melinda Gibson, from the project Photography as contemporary art, 2011

© Melinda Gibson, from the project Photography as contemporary art, 2011

If Melinda Gibson’s photomontages look familiar, don’t be surprised. A flash of Ed Burtynsky here, a slice of Juergen Teller there, they are all made up of elements of some of the major works of the 1990s and 2000s, culled from the pages of The Photograph As Contemporary Art. Written and edited by Charlotte Cotton (former curator at the V&A and LACMA, and now creative director of the UK’s National Media Museum), it is one of the key texts for students starting out in photographic education. Which is precisely why the 26-year-old, who graduated from London College of Communication in 2006 and is now a visiting lecturer herself, chose to use it.

“I wanted to produce a body of work that was original – unique pieces unable to be reproduced – which in turn commented on the availability of photography in our heightened digitalised age. I also wanted to provoke questions about copyright and ownership through the re-appropriation of imagery. What is important to me is questioning the medium and the conventions that surround it, examining these and suggesting other ways to view them.”
Using just a scalpel, an adhesive and “a lot of patience”, she took the book apart (…)

But, as she has already hinted, there’s another, more critical purpose to the work, in particular the way such books serve to canonise particular photographers and images. “What I find frustrating is that the same images appear and re-appear every year at [educational] institutions. As you wonder through the different degree shows, you feel as though you have seen it all before – just modern takes on Martin Parr, Stephen Shore or Nan Goldin. What crossed my mind was whether these institutions are to blame for this, or whether it is truly impossible to produce something new. In my view, the canonisation of such sources acts as a hindrance to creativity, where people feel they have to produce something similar to be accepted or understood.”

in British Journal of Photography. Continue reading

Melinda’s blog here

┐ Annie Collinge └

© Annie Collinge, Project with Sarah May

© Annie Collinge, Project with Sarah May

Annie’s home here and her blog here

Sarah’splace here

┐ Andrew Bruce └

© Andrew Bruce, Untitled, from the series Tender, 2010

© Andrew Bruce, Untitled, from the series Tender, 2010

More of Andrew’s work here

Short-listed for Fresh Faced & Wild Eyed

┐ Nigel Grimmer └

© Nigel Grimmer, Julie, Golders Green,, from the series Roadkill Family Album, 2001

© Nigel Grimmer, Eric, Big Bend, from the series Roadkill Family Album, 2010

“Nigel Grimmer takes the conventions of family album snap photography and gives them a weird twist that is at times amusing and at others faintly unnerving. Here the self-conscious poses, the banal compositions, the suburban settings are infiltrated with the kinds of surrealistic incongruities that one might experience in particularly bizarre or embarrassing dreams. His Roadkill Family Album is a collection of prone portraits of family members dolled up in joke shop animal masks and seemingly abandoned as roadside victims. Grimmer’s mother is an owl, his father a frog. His use of plastic masks and dolls imbues the images with a particularly kitsch and almost perverse form of nostalgia. It’s as if childhood memories have been inextricably confused with some kind of metamorphic and macabre fairytale.”

quote from Harley Gallery

Nigel’s home here

 

┐ Louise Blamire └

© Louise Blamire, Duck, from the series declaration of dominance

© Louise Blamire, Tern, from the series declaration of dominance

© Louise Blamire, Mole, from the series declaration of dominance

Louise’s home is here

And a site about contemporary photography in Scotland worth having a look

┐ Kurt Tong └

© Kurt Tong, Untitled, from the series People’s Park

© Kurt Tong, Untitled, from the series People’s Park

© Kurt Tong, Untitled, from the series People’s Park

“Last year I was helping my mother sort out all the family photographs. Apart from the customary family portraits in front of the same Christmas trees and behind birthday cakes, most of the photos taken of my brother, my sisters and me were during our day trips out at various parks.
I have just a few memories of these pictures being taken. However, I still have such vivid memories of all the parks we used to go to. The penguin bins, the bumper cars, the trains and the ice cream stalls are all so clear in my mind, little snippets of memories that make up my childhood. Sadly, nearly all of these parks have long since disappeared, forever living only as memories.
This project explores similar recreational spaces found in China. In 1958, at the beginning of “The Great Leap Forward”, when private ownership was banned, many existing parks were renovated and new parks were built all across China for the people. Many were renamed People’s Park. Over the years, they became main focal points of the cities, where families had their outings and couples met. Children’s amusement parks and zoos were often built within these parks to provide entertainment for the local kids.
China is changing at a staggering pace. The “economic miracle” means that the Chinese are enjoying a much more affluent lifestyle. Shopping and internet have replaced bumper cars and Ferris wheels. As China continues to “progress” and embrace capitalism; many of these parks, a fundamental part of Communist China, have become dilapidated. However, many workers are still employed by the government to maintain these parks, and they remain open for the people.
Millions of older Chinese have grown up with these parks and have memories of time spent in them. Just like the parks, it is quite likely that personal memories of the parks are slowly fading away with time. Like the family photos I have, the photographs in this series act as a record of memories that may soon disappear entirely.”

More of Kurt’s work here

┐ Alex Kisilevich #2 └

I published one of Alex’s photographs from a work in collaboration with Lindsay Page more than a year ago but I ran into his work again and though his process is worth a little more attention than the one given before, so here’s Alex comeback.

© Alex Kisilevich, Salesman, 2009

© Alex Kisilevich, Stick-Figure, 2011

“Describe your process of creating a piece. What materials do you normally work in?

I used to have this rigid process where I had an exact idea of what I wanted for my image and its particular meaning. I would draw a terrible drawing and try to meticulously recreate it as a photo. This method worked for a while but I’m quite content that I grew out of it. I’ve learned to trust myself a bit. I try to go with the flow to allow for unplanned things to unfold – not to say that everything is completely improvised. I’ll come in with some sort of idea that could include a location or object or something that connotes a certain feeling or idea and then I take it from there. I just don’t try to plan out every detail. This allows me to be more in tune with my surroundings and has generally produced better results. For materials: a camera, a lens, film, a film scanner, computer, Kodak photo paper. Also, anything from second hand stores is fair game.”

excerpt from Artist profile by Sara Titanic for “Now Magazine”, 2010

More of Alex’s work can be seen here

┐ Marisa Portolese └

© Marisa Portolese, Maya, from the series Imagined Paradise

© Marisa Portolese, Celia, from the series Imagined Paradise

“The Imagined Paradise series is about having an aesthetic experience that is surreal and attainable only through flight of the imagination.
The images present the viewer with two distinct universes, the real and imagined. The subjects are solemn, still, contemplative and in awe. Their desire to escape is evident by what they see through the mind’s eye. And what they pine for is a place that is ethereal, vibrant, effervescent, but also beyond reach, fantastical and larger than life.”

More of Marisa’s work here

┐ Dianne Davis └

© Dianne Davis, Untitled, from the series Haven, work in progress

© Dianne Davis, Untitled, from the series Haven, work in progress

More of Dianne’s work here

┐ Jinyoung Kim └

© Jinyoung Kim, work in progress, 2011

© Jinyoung Kim, work in progress, 2011

More of his work can be seen here

┐ Alena Zhandarova └

© Alena Zhandarova, Untitled, from the project Cornflower tea and chocolate

© Alena Zhandarova, Untitled, from the project Cornflower tea and chocolate

This series can be seen here

┐ Nuno Direitinho └

© Nuno Direitinho, Untitled, from the series Backbone

© Nuno Direitinho, Untitled, from the series Backbone

© Nuno Direitinho, Untitled, from the series Backbone

“The work aims to set up a dialogue between truth and deception in representation through the context of photography. I look for the juxtaposition between images and their contextual settings, aiming to explore the feeling of absurd that often occurs at this meeting point. The tension between the engaging qualities of colour and the eeriness of raw topics often invades the work, reacting to the latent mutation of spaces, apparatuses and trends of society. This play of metaphors occurs in a kind of push and pull between natural hypothesis and the furtive naturalization of spaces.”

More of Nuno’s work here

┐ Marikel Lahana └

© Marikel Lahana, Herbert, from the series Fictions aptères, 2009

© Marikel Lahana, Cygne, from the series Fictions aptères, 2009

More of Marikel’s work can be seen here

┐ Jessica Sumerling └

© Jessica Sumerling, Living room, from the series Grow Heathrow, 2010

© Jessica Sumerling, Keith’s winter shower, from the series Grow Heathrow, 2010

© Jessica Sumerling, Tilly and Aimee, from the series Grow Heathrow, 2010

As modern society has been burdened with social, political and environmental challenges, people have become disenchanted with our current way of living. Consequently, a movement of radical communities breaking step with the status quo has come about. The primary aims of these groups are; to be sustainable, resilient and follow a way of life that has a minimal impact on the environment.”
The community of Grow Heathrow follows these principles with a desire to live in a way that is sensitive towards nature and each other. The project was founded as a direct action protest against the threat of a third runway being built at Heathrow Airport. Had BAA succeeded in their bid, Sipson and other surrounding villages would have been completely demolished. This would have destroyed homes, schools, churches and cemeteries, devastating the local community.
Since taking the land on 1st March 2010, activists and local residents have set about reviving the blighted community. At the same time they have returned the site to its historic function as a communal market garden. This act of reclaiming what was once common land has allowed a new relationship to flourish between the people and their surrounding natural environment.

Excerpt from Jessica’s text about “Grow Heathrow” here

More of Jessica’s work here

┐ Erin M. Perfect └

© Erin M. Perfect Untitled, from the series Suspending Belief

© Erin M. Perfect Untitled, from the series Suspending Belief

More of Erin’s work here

┐ Gary Watts └

© Gary Watts Untitled #1, from the series Iconicity

© Gary Watts Untitled #7, from the series Iconicity

“The use of lens based media provides a platform that enables me to explore thematic aspects of every day, attempting to look beyond the physical features of objects and environments and examine the sub-text contained within the images.
The representation of banal objects and common environments provides an insight into the relationship we develop with our surroundings and reflect the transformative character of the space and the objects.
These representations offer disclosure into social and cultural customs and events, capturing also moments, gestures and experiences that document temporal and linear interaction.”

More of Gary’s work here

┐ Kamile Matulaityte └

© Kamile Matulaityte, The Abduction of Persephone I , from the series Seven Days with my Mother in D1, 2010

© Kamile Matulaityte, Minotaur, from the series Seven Days with my Mother in D1, 2010

Seven Days with my Mother in D1′ is a series of portraits showing an alternative reality of the relationship between me and my mother. My approach has emerged from the everyday domestic situations in which we play certain roles. However, instead of the actual drama the viewer is presented with ludicrous episodes from Greco-Roman mythology with my mother as a protagonist. The tri-colour gum printing process enables me to prolong the photographic dialogue with the subject and turn it into an experience that is more intimate. The painterly qualities of the technique distance the pieces from the family snapshot aesthetics in this way bestowing the deserved attention and significance to the subject photographed.

┐ Holly Birtles └

© Holly Birtles, Lucy, from the 1f Opera Series, 2011

© Holly Birtles, Yuri, from the 1f Opera Series, 2011

More of Holly’s work here

┐ Kristin Skees └

© Kristin Skees, Untitled, from the series Cozy Portraits

© Kristin Skees, Untitled, from the series Cozy Portraits

More of Kristin’s work here

┐ Ellinor Forsberg └

© Ellinor Forsberg, Untitled, from the series Mum

© Ellinor Forsberg, Untitled, from the series Mum

More of Ellinor’s work here