The images in these two series by Stephen Gill began life in East London as colour negative . They then went through a process of transformation which aimed to preserve something of their intense and emotional character, even though the colour coatings and emulsions making up their physical form were completely altered. The colour negative film was part-processed in energy drink, that softened the film emulsion and caused image shifts and disruptions to take place. This is how the series “Best Before End” came into being. For the second part of the series the softened film was manipulated manually, the layers of emulsion being stretched, moved, torn and distorted, before further shifts were added with a soft brush while the emulsion was still pliable. The individual negatives dried for up to three years before being re-photographed, at which point a single master print and one proof print were made before the original negative was set in resin. These works now form his latest series „Energy Field”.
Stephen Gill – Christophe Guye Galerie, Booth B39
At Paris Photo 2016
November 10 to 13, 2016
Grand Palais
Paris, France
