In an exhibition curated by Megan Ringrose, twelve experimental photographic artists exhibit their work in Oxford as part of Photo Oxford Festival due to open at Lower Gallery, The Old Fire Station, central Oxford, from the 15th of October until 13th of November. Each artist focuses on materiality within their practice. They are inspired by historical processes invented in the 19th Century, and work with the fundamental elements of the photographic medium: Light, Time and Material.
The exhibition brings together artists from Australia, France, Holland, Poland, Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The artists explore the materiality of the photograph through experimentation within analogue photographic techniques to create unique contemporary art photography.
Over the past twenty years, photography’s innovative presence of immaterial existence/cloud-based imagery and material existence anchored in objectivity has shifted focus. This exhibition not only explores the movement of photography from representation to abstraction, it also looks at the thread of analogue practitioners who continue to practice with finite materials or new materials with fresh ideas on what photography might be or do in the 21st century. These artists reach back into the history of photography seeking new ways of thinking and making photographs.
These photographers are part of a movement that push the boundaries of photography as a medium. The idea that analogue photography is obsolete is outdated and rather than a rejection of the historical techniques a raft of artists embrace the beginnings of the medium, using it in the most creative and energetic way to generate unique photographic art that is at the forefront of the definition of fine art photography.
List of artists: Neil Ayling, John A Blythe, Sylvie Bonnot, Ellen Carey, Alice Cazenave, Karel Doing, Nettie Edwards, Hannah Fletcher, Anna Luk, Rita Rodner, Megan Ringrose, Kateryna Snizhko.
Workshops delivered by John A Blythe (Cyanotype), Karel Doing (Phytography), Nettie Edwards (Anthotype) and Alice Cazenave (Chemigram).
Bookings: https://www.fabricofphotography.com/how
Essays by Anna Luk, Claire Raymond and Duncan Wooldridge.
Website: https://www.fabricofphotography.com
Fabric of Photography
Curated by Megan Ringrose
15th October – 13th November
The Old Fire Station
40 George Street, Oxford.
