AirSpace contemporary art gallery is celebrating it’s second birthday by announcing 12 months of imaginative and innovative shows and exhibitions in the heart of Stoke on Trent.
The programme begins next week with a subtle and beautiful exhibition of contemporary lensless photography by women.
TITLE: Look; differently
DATES: Preview 1st July 6pm -9pm, 1st July – 12th July
OPEN: Tuesday to Saturday 11am – 5pm
By IRIS
an International Women’s Photographic Research Resource, internationally recognised as an innovative, leading-edge visual arts and culture centre, based at Loughborough University.
Artists
Lisa Reddig
Alessandra Capodacqua
Heidi Crabbe
Katy Flaherty
Undergraduate artists
Chloë Butler (please note the ë)
Sarah Elson
In this age of glossy, push button high-tech gadgetry, it’s a refreshing change to come across a widely used photographic tool which is essentially a box with a hole in it. It’s a camera, and these particular models are often home made. The pictures are taken by simply opening the tiny hole, (made by a household needle) by removing a bit of black tape, and waiting until the exposure is completed. This can take anything from a few minutes to several hours.
Curator of the exhibition and visiting lecturer on the BA photography course at Staffordshire University Mort Marsh, explains “Pinhole photography, is the antithesis of Cartier Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’, not that instant captured between each taken breath, but more the long languid exhale after close contemplation.”
Mort, who has been involved with IRIS since 2003, firstly as a student, and then employed to oversee the development and re-branding of the project, has selected work for this exhibition from graduates and undergraduates from both Loughborough and Staffordshire University. She goes to say “pinhole photography is a unique way of exploring subject matter, because it takes much longer to produce and allows the artist to become more involved in the object or view. There’s also an element of risk, in that there is no viewfinder so the results can be surprising and unexpected”
There are 17 items in this show, from 6 artists, and the work ranges from the very small 3 x 5 inches up to larger 12 x 12 inch pieces.
