- Venue
- Project Space Plus, Lincoln University
- Location
- East Midlands
This week, I had the opportunity to attend the “Drift” exhibition held at the University of Lincoln by Daniel Rappley, a British artist working mainly with photography in experimental ways. Based in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Daniel is a founding studio member of Coreset and an associate member of Backlit and Primary. Some of his previous solo exhibitions include “Transcription Flags” (2018) at the Usher Gallery in Lincoln and “Covenant” (2012) in London. He has also been featured in group exhibitions at The Barbican, London, Club Solo, The Netherlands, and Olympic Park, Beijing, and has been reviewed in Frieze, New York Arts, and the Artists Newsletter.
Unfamiliar with Daniel’s work at the time, I walked into the exhibition blindly, not knowing what to expect. I was struck immediately by the vibrant colours of his artworks and the cohesive atmosphere among the pieces displayed. At first glance, without knowing the context of the work, I thought they were compositions made of multiple pictures layered together, heavily edited and altered to achieve the final, desired result. Upon entering the space, the first artwork that caught my attention was the installation in the middle of the room, a meter-long print propped onto a metallic structure with a very interesting flow and placement. The print seemed to showcase macro details of what appeared to be fragments of a photograph, with oversized captured dust particles.
The framed artworks, which ranged in size, were easier to interpret, with visible urban and natural landscapes, as well as pictures of people, plants, and objects. There seemed to be a few recurring motifs throughout the pieces, such as tropical landscapes, with images of palm trees and holiday resorts, candid photos of people in various environments and moments in time, and pictures of buildings and mountains, which added lots of texture to the final result. The absence of titles for each one of the pieces in the gallery left room for personal interpretation while also presenting the exhibition as a unitary whole.
After reading the description and familiarizing myself with the theme, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the subjects addressed were dementia and the slow degradation of memories associated with it. Brain disorders and conditions are much more common than we might think, especially in elderly people, and the struggles related to them can be extremely challenging not only for the individuals in question but also for the people closest to them. The artworks were created from a collection of photographic slide transparencies, found at house clearances, stacked together on a lightbox, and photographed.
Learning about the personal family story that seemed to be the driving force and inspiration behind this body of work, I feel that, in the future, using more personal items and mediums in the creation of the artworks could further elevate the message and emotional impact of the exhibition. Introducing a subtle tone of vulnerability could help viewers connect with the story and theme on a deeper level and experience the artwork more authentically.
If you are a fan of photography, unique mediums, and even painting, I would definitely recommend checking out Daniel’s work and visiting the “Drift” exhibition, as it is a captivating and creative blend of all of these.
