Grand Theatre Blackpool Art Exhibition - Brochure

Brochure and order form for prints of the work on display in the exhibition.

Degree Shows and Art Exhibition Dates 2015

UPDATED

• Lancaster University: Unearthed: 17th - 24th June
• UCLan Creative Focus: 12th June - 20th June 
• Blackburn College: now - 5th June
• Liverpool John Moore's University: 29th May - 12th June
• Manchester School of Art: 13th June - 24th June
• D&AD New Blood Exhibition: 1st July - 2nd July
• Free Range Shows: 29th May - 13th July
• Royal Academy Summer Exhibition:  8th June - 16th August
• a-n degree show listings

Click links for more information,

Exhibition of Work at the Grand Theatre Blackpool

Click to enlarge

I have been invited to exhibit nine pieces of my Blackpool themed work at the iconic Grand Theatre in the centre of Blackpool.  Built in 1894 The Grand Theatre is the work of the proclaimed Victorian Theatre architect, Frank Matcham. My work is on display in the Stalls Bar. The work is based on familiar and iconic scenes that capture the history and unique aspects of Blackpool as a holiday destination. The work will be on show until the end of the 2015 season. Prints of the work in A2 and A1 sizes are available from the Grand Theatre box office or by Post. The original art work is also for sale.

The work starts life as digital photographs, the final impressionistic images are influenced by my interest in the French art form of affiches lacérées or torn posters. The finished artwork is the product of a combination of computer manipulation and a mixed media polymer transfer printing process that results in the final image being uniquely, randomly distressed.

The exhibition runs from June to September 2015. For access times please check with The Grand Theatre website.

To see further examples of my artwork visit my website

The Grand Theatre - Blackpool

Women in the City - Liverpool Photography Festival

Women in the City

As part of the Liverpool Photography Festival 15 - 31st May 2015 to celebrate the visit of three famous Queens: Mary II, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria,  There was a call for photographers to submit their images celebrating Women in the City, to showcase in our online gallery. From female photographers, to images of the women we admire;shots of majestic liners and Grandmothers entertaining the young, let your imagination run wild, capture and share your moments in Liverpool.

I submitted two photographs from my maternal Grandfathers photograph archive. William Turner had a Tattooing and Photographic studio on Lime Street in the early 1900's. He was well connected with the circus and music hall folk...

The photographs are on an outdoor display in Thomas Steers Way in the Liverpool One shopping mall. The upper one is of my great grandmother preparing Sunday dinner in the backyard. The other is of Annie Jones the bearded woman. A famous member of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. 

Photographs by Johnny Parker

Photographs in Women in the City - Liverpool Photography Festival

Women in the City

As part of the Liverpool Photography Festival 15 - 31st May 2015 to celebrate the visit of three famous Queens: Mary II, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria,  There was a call for photographers to submit their images celebrating Women in the City, to showcase in our online gallery. From female photographers, to images of the women we admire;shots of majestic liners and Grandmothers entertaining the young, let your imagination run wild, capture and share your moments in Liverpool.

I submitted two photographs from my maternal Grandfathers photograph archive. William Turner had a Tattooing and Photographic studio on Lime Street in the early 1900's. He was well connected with the circus and music hall folk...

The photographs are on an outdoor display in Thomas Steers Way in the Liverpool One shopping mall. The upper one is of my great grandmother preparing Sunday dinner in the backyard. The other is of Annie Jones the bearded woman. A famous member of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. 

Photographs by Johnny Parker

Making a Whole Room Camera Obscura - BBC Video

Photographer Abelardo Morell (http://www.abelardomorell.net) turns the room of Venetian palace into a gigantic camera using the ancient technology of the Camera Obscura, as featured in the new BBC series 'The Genius of Photography'.

Creating a Room Camera Obscura is part of my PhD Art Practice. 

Chang Celebration Artwork Unveiling - Everton FC

Presentation and unveiling of  the Chang Beer Bottle Top art work at Everton Football Club. The artwork was fixed to the wall at the entrance to the Directors Car Park at Goodison Park.

The artwork is constructed from 1500 Chang beer bottle tops selected from over 5000 tops collected by Chang beer outlets over the previous year. The tops were embedded in resin and a laser cut brushed stainless steel outline of the famous Everton club logo applied to the surface along with the words 10 Years to commemorate the longest shirt sponsorship partnership in the Premiership. 

I am grateful to Dot-Art, Liverpool for the commission.

Simulation of Exhibition Installation - The Originary Moment

The video shows a simulation an exhibition installation in which 3 back-projected videos are overlaid by the imaged created by a whole room Camera Obscura.


The concept behind the installation is a simulation of the originary moment in the invention of photography when Henry Fox Talbot viewed the scene of Lake Como from the balcony of his hotel room on the screen of his portable Camera Obscura and dreamt of a way of fixing the image he saw by capturing the light or by painting with the light as he put it. His sole intention being to remember the spectacular view and to be able to share it with others on his return home. The originary moment is contrasted with the reality of his dream, the banal snapshot photograph. Which is represented here by the negative space of a quintessential snapshot pose, In this case the focus of my PhD research , a snapshot of my "first day at school" taken by my father.

The Making of Chang Art Work for Everton FC - Work in Progress

Sorting the good beer bottle tops from the bad... Only an other 5000 to go

Computer generated visual of final artwork...

Everton Crest Logo 

Testing patterns for the tops layout

Resin embedding test piece

Finished polyester resin casting

Full size artwork for laser cut stainless steel 

Positioning stencil for the stainless steel parts

Laser cut stainless steel as received

Stainless steel pieces in-situ

Finished Artwork

The Making of Chang Art Work for Everton FC - Test Piece Video

A short video showing the creation of a test piece fibre glass resin base for the artwork. This was to get the hang of using polyester resin and fibreglass reinforcement. 

Lost Inventions Fantastic Creations Exhibition

 


At BASELINE 67 -71 Victoria Street Blackpool, FY1 4RJ, at the rear of Marks and Spencer in the pederstrianised area.

Lost Inventions Fantastic Creations is a light hearted coming together of artists, inventors and engineers via open invitations and workshops aimed at those creative types of people who tinker about in garden sheds or sketch down those "next big thing" ideas.

My contribution to the exhibition is in the form of two Drawing Machines.

This drawing machine is vaguely based on principles of the Guilloché Drawing Machines. These were invented to apply the intricate repetitive radial engravings on watch and clock parts and for the creation of security print designs for banknotes. Typically machines are pieces of fine engineering employing three computer controlled motors. The patterns are known as Lissajous curves. The technique has also been used in the creation of jewellery including Faberge eggs.


The concept has been appropriated and simplified for the construction of a wide range of drawing machines. This is one such machine and was the first one I constructed. It developed into the MK2 version which is also on show at this exhibition. The concept is in the process of development with a view to exploring this approach to mechanised drawing using a range of simple materials and recycled components.



This machine uses a pair of synchronous electric motors, one from a motorised valve and the other from a microwave. Other components have been salvaged from a venetian blind and an old Meccano set, plus bits and pieces of junk.

More sophisticated versions employing computer controlled motors are in the prototype stage of development.

MK2 Drawing Machine

Guilloché Drawing Machines were invented to apply the intricate repetitive radial engravings on watch and clock parts and for the creation of security print designs for banknotes. Typically machines are pieces of fine engineering employing three computer controlled motors. The patterns are known as Lissajous curves. The technique has also been used in the creation of jewellery including Faberge eggs.

The concept has been appropriated and simplified for the construction of a wide range of drawing machines. This is one such machine which is in the process of development with a view to exploring this approach to mechanised drawing. More sophisticated versions employing both gear boxes and computer controlled motors are in the prototype stage of development.

Banksy Visits Poulton le Fylde, Wink...

A piece of Banksy style stencil art, "Little Girl with Red Balloon", mysteriously appears on the wall of Pulci Pizza, popular Poulton eating place, one Sunday morning while owner Alex was away on holiday. Alex is delighted but puzzled...

Reinforcing Stencils

Image courtesy of the Wooster Collective

Reinforce the delicate parts of a stencil by fixing them in place with thread or monofiliment nylon, such as fine fishing line. Use adhesive tape or hot melt glue to fix the thread in place. 

Photo Mural Installation

I was asked by a friend who owns The Market Place lettings agency in Breck Road, Poulton le Fylde, to help with the refurbishment of his office by installing a feature wall photo mural. Appropriately he decided upon an original Francis Frith photograph of the Market Place in Poulton le Fylde, taken about 1955. The photograph shows Poulton in the days when the Market Place was open to traffic, quite quaint to see a bus parked in the Square. Another interesting find was a shop front with the name Parker on it. I digress

The Mural was sourced and licensed from the Francis Frith collection. It was printed and supplied in 6 pieces by Printed Space, Morecambe. The installation was relatively problem free, despite this being the first such mural that I have installed. The finished work is 17 x 8 ft. I am pleased to say the client was blown away, not literally, he was as they say chuffed. Passers by get dragged in off the street to experience the 3D experience of walking into a 1955 Poulton Market Place.

St Chads - Poulton le Fylde - Faux Effects

St Chads from Thatched House Gate - Old Glass Plate Photograph

 St Chads from Thatched House Gate - Tintype Photograph

St Chads from Thatched House Gate - Mixed Media

 St Chads from Thatched House Gate - Sketch Style Photograph

MA Exhibition - Serendipity - Family Photograph - Video

This is a video of the installation Serendipity which is discussed in a previous post, see here for further information.

Dissertation - Abstract and Synopsis

Self: The Photograph, Memory and Nostalgia

Abstract 

This enquiry takes the form of a personal reflective narrative within a theoretical framework influenced by the writings of Barthes, Sontag, Benjamin and others. It opens by briefly exploring the historical development of photography and the emergence of the photograph as a as the snapshot in the context of the family photograph. The enquiry considers the relationship between the family photograph and the development of autobiographical memory in turn a detailed exploration of the influence of autobiographical memory and the sense of self. Finally the dissertation explores the emotional influence of nostalgia as a catalyst in the development of a sense of self and place.

This dissertation is part of a larger body of work including a practice based exhibition comprising three installations which explore in turn; the notion of aging and mortality through the decay of memory and the ephemeral photograph; the family photograph and the uncanny nature of the pose based on a selection of family photographs spanning four generations; a simulation of the frailty of memory in which appropriated frames of decaying film stock are combined with familiar images in a dissonant melange of the familiar and the confused.

The enquiry is informed by a series of questions: Is my art practice born out of a sense of self and agency? What are the influence of autobiographical memory and the emotion of nostalgia?

Synopsis

The objective of this dissertation is to explore the influences which have informed my art practice and which give rise to my recurring themes of decay, memory and nostalgia through the medium of photography, in its broadest terms.

My contention is that my practice is born out of a sense of self and agency moulded by the influence of autobiographical memory and the remembered self. I will argue that I am influenced by the cultural background and geography of my childhood the embodiment of which is the family photograph.
My enquiry is composed of two elements, the dissertation and a practice based exhibition. The dissertation will take the form of a personal reflective narrative. The practice component is based on the experimental aspect of my current practice with an emphasis on themes drawn specifically from the substance of my enquiry.

I shall open by exploring a brief history of photography and the emergence of the photograph as a medium and as an intrinsic part of family life whilst considering the influence of the photograph in the development of autobiographical memory in association with the family photograph and the family photograph album. This in turn will lead me to a more detailed exploration of the nature of autobiographical memory and the influence of memory on the development of the sense of self. Thirdly I shall explore the emotional influence of nostalgia as a catalyst in the context of self and place. Finally, I shall introduce the practice and contextual aspect of the dissertation.

MA Exhibition - Serendipity - Family Photograph

Serendipity – a homage to the family photograph album, the “snapshot” and the uncanny nature of the pose based on a selection of family photographs spanning five generations, intended to invoke memory and nostalgic emotion.

Following the invention of photography the family photograph album quickly became an essential part of family life as a means of storing paper prints but more than that, as a repository for memories,  a source of nostalgic reflection and trigger for story telling. 

The nineteen fifties saw the arrival colour photography and with this the 35mm colour transparency  which because of their small size, to be shown as a projected image. A symbol of the genre was the Kodak Carousel slide projector, another form of family photograph album. The darkened room and the sound of the slides changing evoke nostalgic memories for a whole generation.

The installation comprises digital projected images of old black and white photographs re-photographed from the family album to show elements of the textual information that accompanied the photographs in the album.

The installation simulated the walls of a room and the pages of a photograph album superimposed on these are the projected images from a Kodak Carousel projector overlaying and merging with the black and white images, occasionally giving rise to serendipitous juxtapositions and third images. The image selection emphasises the banality and commonality of the pose despite being separated by up to five generations in time.

The viewer will be prompted to consider their personal relationship with, and their experience of, the photograph as a means of spontaneously making new memories from old memories. Confronted by the banality of the pose in many of the images the viewer will be prompted to reflect upon similar poses within their own collection of photographs.

When viewing a family photograph album, the images are but single frames from a view of life which can be reconstructed into a variety of narratives be pendant upon the viewer’s relationship to them. A photograph captures the moment which immediately becomes the past. The imagery is fuel for the imagination, we see not only what is signified by the photograph but we recall related memories and emotions and our mind creates new images, our images.

To add an additional dimension to this installation a narrative sound track by family member, Bill Turner aged 80, my mothers’ second cousin, in conversation with me and my brother reflects on photographs from the family archive, not necessarily those being shown. The commentary demonstrates the role of the photograph as a record of social history and an aide memoir.  The objective of the installation is to explore how family photographs shape our memory by triggering remembering and random thoughts, whilst prompting the viewer to consider how they remember their own family photographs and related memories.

Medium: Projected digital image of original photographs, analogue  projected colour transparency [slide], with commentary.

This is a slide show compiled from stills from the presentation, for a full length video [6min 34sec] of the presentation see here.

MA Exhibition - Memento Mori

Memento Mori – a form of invocation which explores the notion of ageing and mortality through the decay of memory in relation to the ephemeral but enduring photograph.

Perusing a family photograph album I came across a photograph of my mother as a beautiful young woman at the age of 18, I was reminded of the last time I saw her before she died, a frail old lady of 78. 

I was suddenly overwhelmed by my own sense of mortality how long would it be before a member of my family contemplated my photograph and reflected on my passing. 

Roland Barthes had been similarly affected by the finding of a photograph of his mother as a young girl. His ultimate response was to contemplate death, the death of his mother and himself. Barthes was of course mourning the recent loss of his mother. 

My situation was rather different my mother had been dead for fifteen years. What the photograph made me realise, confronted with the prospect of my own death, was how I had been unable to grieve at the time of her death. 

This photograph was important to me as a memento mori, it was the way I wanted to remember her as a she appeared in this photograph rather than rely upon the insubstantiality and frailty of memory, which had already started to fade until revived by this photograph. 

The installation prompted by this reflective occasion considers the nature of the snapshot as a memento mori and as a signifier of mortality compared with, the insubstantiality and fragility of memory. 

The installation uses an iPad as the means of presentation, representing on the one hand a fading memory and on the other an enduring photograph. The installation is in the form of a peepshow with the intention of creating a sense of intimacy with the image and as a means of concentrating the gaze.
The presentation is in 4 parts, the photograph, the aging of the photograph [18seconds], the decay of the memory [78 seconds] and the reflection of the enduring photograph. 

The presentation is accompanied by a sound track by Leila – Underwater. Due to copyright restrictions I cannot include the soundtrack in the video, as an alternative, to hear the soundtrack open the YouTube version here before viewing Memento Mori.

Medium: iPad – Digital animation from original photograph with sound.

MA Exhibition - Decasia - Frailty of Memory

Decasia: Frailty of Memory – a simulation of the frailty of memory in which appropriated frames of decaying film stock are combined with familiar images in a dissonant melange of the familiar and the confused.

This installation is a simulation of the frailty of memory and the confusion related to aging changes such as dementia. The work is informed by the practice of cinematographer Bill Morrison and his cinematographic creations using decaying nitrate film stock rescued from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. 

Morrisons’ use of decaying nitrate film provides the perfect metaphor for failing memory, the juxtaposed elements of decay and imagery results in a surreal simulation of a decaying memory. The effect is serendipitous the result tantalising, we are all familiar with the frustration of trying to recall or complete a memory we may be able to translate Morrison’s imagery as an emulation of how a person with dementia or failing memory struggles to recall memories, the fleeting vivid moment in a sea of confusion and distortion.

I have appropriated frames from Morrisons’ film “Light is Calling” which show only abstract visualisation of decay and reworked them by blending in images from the family photograph album endeavouring to emulate the process of decay and the related frailty and confusion of memory.

The video is constructed to give an initial sensation of remembering, the viewer is struggles to reconstruct familiar memories from the noise and confusion of the mind as the memories melt into the background only to reappear in a different form the emerging image reacting with the background to create an element of indeterminacy in a tantalising and frustrating tangle as the memory is reconstructed.

The imagery is accompanied by extracts from the sound track of Morrisons short film Light is Calling the sound track was composed by Michael Gordon. In this installation it is hoped that the viewer will recognise almost inevitable prospect of failing memory whilst being prompted to recall their own memories visually and aurally.

Medium: Video constructed from appropriated film stills and digitised photographs, with sound.

Note: the title Decasia is appropriated from Bill Morrison’s full length feature film of the same name.