BLINDED BY THE SOUND

STEP INSIDE

The music and arts scenes though sharing many common practitioners and audiences are often presented as two distinct areas. The lines like most things in life are not really so distinct and firmly delineated. Most photography and art exhibitions are held within white galleries where the art is presented in optimum light with little distraction so that people can contemplate and enjoy the work on show. Music does not usually happen in such pristine and sterilised conditions and so all three of the venues for this exhibition will reflect this. Not all the photographs shown in each venue will have been taken there, all though many will, but the spirit and ambience of each will provide the right backdrop for this show. I am very grateful that forward thinking festivals and art shows like THE PLYMOUTH ART WEEKENDER recognise this and support the appreciation of art by all in many new and disparate venues across the city.

Music and Sound are as important to me as what you see on the walls. In a visual centric world it is all to easy to get lost in the noise. We all use our ears to navigate a meaningful journey through the storm and these three sonic landmarks will be alive with the sound of locals during the day and the bands playing on the same dates during the evening. None of this should stop you being able to appreciate the images presented.

While an authentic voice is often the mark of a successful auteur, I will strive to change and respond to the material, rather than adopting a style or dogma that precludes clarity of vision, or presents obstacles between subject and viewer. I consider photography to be an art form but not always art. As with any craft I find that I am always learning and do not expect to reach a zenith upon this particular journey. The work should speak for itself but I feel that the majority of the music and gig photography that I engage in has as much to do with Hip Hop sampling and Punk D.I.Y culture as any kind of traditional art. As a practising artist and mentor I am fully engaged with the process of composition and am aware of how mastery of technique and less obvious methods like the utilisation of traditional painting modes, (Chiaroscuro, Sfumato, Cangianta and Unione) in rendering photographs, but am also very aware of how often, less, really can mean a lot more.

No MORE Heroes ANYMORE ?

Not quite. I will always make images from the heart using my head and soul and while the great Don McCullin , Brian Duffy, Pennie Smith, William Walling JR, Roberta Bayley, Ray Stevenson, Stanley Kubrick etc continue to inspire and make me want to put my camera down in equal measure, I try and find my biggest drive in what is happening around me. Not just immediately in the moment, but around me at this time. There are a lot of young photographers, artists and musicians doing great work right now and I take as much from them and their disciplines as from those who made their art with light and film in the past.