Winter Blues 6

Well, my resolution to get back into regular blogging is swimming with the fail whale. I'd love to say it will definitely happen now...but life is busy and unpredictable as ever, so I won't make a promise I might not be able to keep.

One thing which is definitely happening though is the return of my work to The Egg in Liverpool for group show Winter Blues 6, from 25th November through to 15th January 2012. As part of this end of year show, I'll be showing three silver-halide prints, alongside the work of over twenty other artists. If past exhibitions are any guide, it will be a wonderfully diverse and exciting mix, and well worth a look.

The Dream of Flight     2011

Wind and Water     2011

A Waking Dream on The Way of All Flesh, Part Three     2011

iPhone Project

A long time without a post, I know...it's been a busy summer, but I have lots of stuff stored up to share, and plan to get back to regular blogging. To start off, an update on my adventures in iPhoneography, a project which has grown and developed into something with a life and direction of its own.

 Take a closer look at  http://statigr.am/atelierphotosynthetic 

Maverick Monochromatic Magic

It's rare I find the time to curate a Treasury list.
This is one of those rare occasions.

Sinthetix Series

A new series of fetish studies in high-contrast monochrome on metallic paper, emphasising the beauty and aesthetics of what is often considered dark and seedy, but is in fact a celebration of life and freedom.

Possession Part One     2011

This first image in the series bridges the gap between these two perceptions, contrasting the beauty of the female form and the striking fashion (including those iconic red-soled stilettos) with the stark surroundings and distressed floorboards. 

The following images remove the model from environmental context, creating a purity of focus on line and form, subject and composition, style and substance, the aesthetic and the sensuous.

Possession Part Two     2011

Possession Part Three     2011

Possession Part Four     2011

12x8 inch prints on Fuji Pearl silver halide paper are now available from Etsy at $40. Limited editions of 50. Parts Two, Three and Four also available as a set of 3 at $100. Other sizes poa.

The Swing of Things

I'm very pleased to announce that my work will be on display at The Egg in Liverpool from July 8th - 31st, as part of group show 'The Swing of Things', curated by Headspace.

In my first exhibition since moving to the North West, I'll be showing recent photographs featuring my new environment, alongside several other artists. If you happen to be in the area, I'd be honoured if you took the time to see my work up close and personal.

More information at HeadSpace@EggSpace.

Recent Nature

Still     2011

Skyward     2011

Fallen     2011

Papaverisimilitude     2011

Papaveracity     2011

Visit my Etsy shop for these and many other prints in a variety of sizes and finishes.

Recent Surfaces

Spring Loaded     2011

Wall of Silence     2011

Obfuscation     2011

Beyond     2011

Shelter     2011

8x12 prints on stunning Fuji Pearl paper available now at Etsy.

Recent Landscapes

Into The Ribble Valley     2011

Flight of the Witches     2011

Witches View     2011

From Pendle Hill     2011

All now available as beautiful silver-halide prints from the usual place.

A Gentleman and a Scholar

So, returning a few favours to some of those who have been kind enough to feature my work recently, I created a Treasury of my own. With Fathers Day not far off (and my own birthday also approaching), it's a collection curated with the modern man in mind.

The Poetry (and Music) of the Clouds

Into/Through l (The Brain is Wider)    2011

"The brain is wider than the sky"

Emily Dickinson

Into/Through ll (When The Day Arrives)    2011

"And when the day arrives I'll become the sky"

Trent Reznor 

Into/Through lll (Kiss the Sky)    2011

"Excuse me, while I kiss the sky"

Jimi Hendrix

Shades of the UK

A black and white collection from the UK Photo Team.

New Work - Dandelions and Bluebells

Soffione I    2011

Soffione II    2011

Soffione III    2011

The Passing of Spring    2011

Prints of all these images, and those in the previous entry, are now available through my Etsy shop.

New Work - Wood, Metal, and a Dandelion

Taraxacum Officianale    2011

Industrial Strength I    2011

Industrial Strength II    2011

Against the Grain    2011

Winner!

I was recently lucky enough to win a print by the extremely talented Sevgi, in a giveaway on her facebook page. And here it is on my wall!

blood on her hands   Sevgi K   2009

I first discovered Sevgi's work on Etsy some time ago, and used this image in a Treasury, so when I won a signed 8x10 of my choice, it was an easy decision to make. It's a powerful and provocative image, I think you'll agree...as are many of the images in her impressive body of work.

sugar and needles and all things evil   Sevgi K   2010

Browsing her flickr photostream, one discovers great variety and amazing creativity, with images ranging from conventional (but very skillfully executed) portraiture and landscape, to distinctly unconventional and conceptual. But her speciality (and focus of an ongoing 365 project) is self-portraits...and these too are created in a range of styles, almost without exception showing a depth of artistic vision and mastery of composition which I can only dream of possessing.

You're fucking perfect   Sevgi K   2011

Of course it doesn't hurt that the model in Sevgi's self-portraits is extremely beautiful, but these images transcend narcissism to become beautiful in their own right, and beautiful beyond the purely aesthetic. She has the rare ability to provoke thought and evoke emotion through her work...it is funny, disturbing, intriguing, light, dark, serene, energetic, arresting, moving...and always interesting and inspiring. The mark of a true artist.

sit facing the window   Sevgi K   2010

As I said, I only wish I had a tenth of her brilliance. I take photographs, but Sevgi is a Photographer. Thank you Sevgi for the beautiful print...I plan to collect several more.

Find Sevgi at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sevgik/
http://www.facebook.com/sevgikphotography
http://index.sevgikphotography.com/

Sin-thetic

"In order to know virtue, we must first
acquaint ourselves with vice"
Marquis de Sade

Bound Geisha, 2009

 

The fetish aesthetic, and the world it represents, celebrate the bold, the stylish, and the extreme...but most of all creativity, freedom and individuality of expression. Theatricality of styling combines with the imagination and dedication of those who immerse themselves in this underground and little-understood subculture. And while the aesthetic is found increasingly infiltrating the mainstream, the lifestyle from which it emerges remains firmly rooted in the realm of the outsider.

Ballerina, 2009

The Sinthetic series occupies a space between these semi-dichotomous approaches. Coming from within the subculture, the subjects of these images are those for whom this is a facet of personality and aspect of self-expression. These images represent not artistic artifice, but an authentic aesthetic...twisted and manipulated to further emphasise the stylistic and existential inspirations both of those involved and of the aesthetic itself.

Tightlaced, 2009

The fetishistic gaze is distilled here into its most concentrated and sophisticated forms...iconography which is at once familiar and alien encapsulated in dramatic high contrast, graphical enhancement and innovative composition. Convention is rejected in favour of a 'libertine' approach which mirrors the culture itself, the images simultaneous flights of fantasy and documents of reality, the extreme empowered and the extraordinary embraced...in the Sinthetic world. 

The Chrysanthemum Tattoo, 2008

Surfaces

Cicatrix Caementicium, 2009

Evolving from the Dis/Integration project, and serving as an adjunct to the location-specific concept of that series, I am also working on another series with a more general exploration of weathered and deteriorated surfaces away from the salt water and ozone infused air of the North Sea coastline. 

Barn Door No.2, 2011

This series also moves away (in part) from the abstraction in destruction, to examine and evoke both the geometry of the surfaces themselves, and also the interaction of the corroding surface and corrosion itself with other elements. 

The Passage of Time, 2010

Objects and symbols, in juxtaposition or in symbiosis, create a contrast or enhancement which invite us to examine the process of deterioration, and remind us of our inevitable involvement in that process. 

Turn Left, 2011

While we talk at length of how the human race is destroying the planet which is our home, these documents of decay call to our attention the inescapable fact that, in an individual sense, we are all ultimately destroyed by natural phenomena, and our unnatural obsessions only hasten that process on a personal, but also a global scale.

Light and Brilliance

What I did this gloomy February Sunday afternoon. A treasury featuring the incredible depths of talent in the UK based photographers of Etsy.

Look, click and comment here.

Actually, that's not all I did this gloomy Sunday...but the other thing is staying under wraps for now. All will be revealed in due course!

Muse in Shoes

She is a deep and powerful source of inspiration to me.

She Stumbled, He Caught Her   2011

Artistically and personally. Mind and soul. Essence.

She Jumped, She Flew   2011

She is beautiful and sublime.

She Walked Into Her Future   2011