October 2011 – Non obsolescence
TROVE presents: Non obsolescence
with the Hereford Photography Festival
Launching Saturday 29th October 2011
Photographic techniques have rapidly changed within the last century; the immediacy of the digital plus its accessibility to the everyman has made everyone ‘photographer.’
But what about the essence of ‘catching/recording light’?
Camera obscura’s by Minnie Weisz, collodion wet plate techniques by Jo Gane, film and chemical printing by Matthew Andrew; these formats changed the world, revolutionized documentation and altered our perceptions of life and truth. These artists represent how our views of the world changed, and these artists represent a reason why the everyman photographer should ‘go home.’
Non obsolescence opens at Down Stairs with a preview reception on Saturday 29th October from 12-8pm, with hot cider served from 3pm onwards. It then runs throughout the duration of Hereford Photography Festival 2011 from 28th October – 26th November.
Matthew Andrew explores preconceptions of what a reference photograph should be and how much information is conveyed to the viewer using a visual medium. His featured work, Mimesis, uses film photography and is a series of images exploring truth, knowledge and photographic representation.
Jo Gane’s work, Ancient and Modern, uses the wet plate collodion process, an historic photographic process invented in 1850. It involves coating glass plates with collodion chemistry, sensitizing plates in silver nitrate then exposing in the camera before developing and fixing, within 10 minutes of exposure. Her work aims to question the value placed on age and authenticity within the art/photographic market.
Minnie Weisz’s photographs are taken in abandoned and forgotten buildings in and around London. Within their rooms she creates narratives from the abandoned objects found inside that relate to the building’s history, and the view that floods the room from outside. Using pinhole technique, traditional photography and documentary, Weisz weaves stories into the interior world of a building, creating an ode to each place she inhabits through photography.
Running concurrently to Non obsolescence, the exhibition Change The World Or Go Home brings together a diverse range of artists both established and up and coming, ranging from Turner Prize winners to artists who grew up within 500 yards of the gallery. It questions the relevance of artists in today’s society and whether their work can change the status quo.
Change The World Or Go Home is open from Friday to Sunday 12-5pm until 30th December, or by appointment outside of these hours.
Non-obsolescence – Hereford Photography Festival Event
As part of HPF’s opening conference, James Stevenson, V&A Photographic Manager, will present new processes in digital 3D modelling and film at the V&A, followed by a panel conversation with James Stevenson, Charlie Levine, Matthew Andrew, Jo Gane and Minnie Weisz on classic photographic methods in contemporary practice such as collodion, camera obscuras and cyanotypes.
Saturday 29th October 3-5pm
Folly Theatre, Hereford College of Arts, Folly Lane, Hereford HR1 1LT
For full details, visit www.photofest.org
For tickets, call 01432 340555 www.courtyard.org.uk
Non obsolescence is presented in association with
www.TROVE.org.uk
www.downstairsgallery.co.uk
www.photofest.org
