Oliver Naylor Loughborough University : BA (hons) Fine Art For sales, commissions and to send comments to the artist click here
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Artist
Statement:
Industrial structures are commonly seen as “eyesores” that damage the environment. Structures, like power stations, are developed solely for efficient energy production but our work reveals the human enjoyment these sites can also possess. Through the medium of photography and film we have attempted to portray the mix of emotions that industrial structures can create; in one way they are extremely attractive and complex whilst at the same time appear subtly ambiguous and ominous. Sites like
quarries and coal mines were developed solely for efficient energy production
but our work reveals the human enjoyment that they can possess. They are
wonderfully nonconformist, resisting the notion that an environment must
be “tamed” to be beautiful. To focus these qualities we have
created panoramic pieces which offer an image that is alien to the human
eye and achieves a cinematic quality. The panoramic pieces are constructed
from 36 colour medium format negatives, meticulously scanned in, stitched
together and digitally manipulated to suit each landscape. The images
benefit from the use of a wide-angle lens because the usual hard, rigid
forms of industry are distorted. The conveyor belts in both colour panoramics
are bowed which softens and abstracts the image. Factors like this and
the colours captured by medium format negatives ask questions about We have also
created a series of 35mm and medium format black and white photographs.
These images achieve a high level of detail that conveys the structures’
aura. The photographs capture aspects of Britain’s industrial background,
solid monumental structures that were built to last forever but in some
cases are now part of desolate post-industrial wastelands. We appreciate
the areas’ sense of possibility and the powerful visual potential
they possess, even when this carries with it a sense of foreboding, danger
and melancholy. These emotions are heightened by our unauthorised visits
to these sites which play a relevant part in our work. Trespassing amplifies
the atmosphere of these dystopian landscapes where it feels like we have
been thrust into an area from the distant past. This is especially true
of the images of the inside of a disused cooling tower. The scene is unfamiliar
BA (hons) Fine Art Loughborough University
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