HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT - A COMMENT
Interesting use of perspective, darkness, and light, making some of Rik Pinkcombe’s images look like toys in a blurred landscape. The triptych is made interesting by the colour of the lights, which shine out as turquoise blobs throughout the pictures, disappearing into the horizon. My particular favourites are the Fire Escape Door which is slowly being swallowed up by a hand of creeping ivy, and the two Ice Pictures which create an interesting pattern and form, each being distorted by the artist’s use of the camera.
Freda Downie
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Monday, 7 April 2008
Review of Hidden in Plain Sight by Adam Gooding
Hidden in Plain Sight – Rik Pinkcombe
Seventeen untitled images lead us through Rik Pinkcombe’s altered world “Hidden in Plain Sight”. It is a world full of questions with no intention of giving answers; a world where our perceptions are deliberately undermined; and, although hauntingly familiar, a world we cannot place within the realm we know as reality. As the title of the exhibition suggests, here lies a mystery within the ordinary.
Pinkcombe is a master of manipulating perceptions, dictating and ultimately challenging the way we see our own world. In several of his pictures he uses a technique of leaving buildings and structures in crisp and clear focus, while blurring their surroundings. This unnatural contrast distorts out perceptions lending the images an artificial quality. Buildings appear as if models in miniature; toy towns with toy cars parked in front. We find ourselves almost unconsciously asking “is this real?” - A fundamental question with which Pinkcombe has intentionally burdened us.
His more recent images capture isolated structures surrounded in a sea of darkness. Taken out of context, their isolation creates a similar sense of artificiality. Lit up as if from a spot light, it is as if they have become pieces of scenery for a stage. It could easily be believed that the parking ticket machine without its car park had been found in a television studio. While miniature models and stage scenery make the unreal seem real, here Pinkcombe has made the real seem unreal.
Each picture subtly removes us further from a normal perspective so that we are in a position to face pictures of a starkly realistic nature in a new light. We find ourselves studying a bus stop, a fire escape or a dilapidated house, far more intently than had we passed them in the street. Pinkcombe has indeed manipulated the focus of his lens and also the focus of his audience, elevating the once mundane and dull to the centre of our attention, where we find ourselves asking further questions about the nature of these images.
However, we are denied any information behind them. Even images of snow give us no clue as to what we are looking at, adding to the distance between ourselves and reality. Each untitled, we find ourselves in an anonymous world. Further emphasised by the absence of any individuals, the loss of identity is striking, whilst being presented with overt images of the impact of human civilisation. But where are the actors on this stage and where are the puppets in this toy town? Of course it is us and we are asked do we want to perform?
The artificiality of the world we have created for ourselves is suggested through Pinkcombe’s work where the man-made is so often set against the might of nature with disturbing consequences. The construction of a tiny city skyline beneath the vast sky seems an almost humorously pointless endeavour let alone the banality of a ticket machine or the travesty of a pile of tyres beneath a tree. We are forced to question our role within this world aided by the ability to look at reality through a changed perception.
Pinkcomb’es vision becomes most apparent in his triptych depicting the border of Mexico and the USA at night. It is taken from a large distance away reflecting the removed perspective he has created throughout the entire exhibition. From here we see clearest the crater humanity has made on the earth and itself through the scar on the landscape of the border. A self imposed boundary. A man-made division. The mass of lights and buildings and roads is intensely claustrophobic creating a great sense of pressure; a world about to burst at the seams. These three images suggest international unease, racial tension and all the stresses of living in this toy town we have made for ourselves. The loss of identity is felt most strong in these pictures, just a mass of people living and working together. The individual becomes lost as we see the human race from a removed perspective.
Despite the strangeness and uneasiness surrounding these images the most important point is that they are depictions of the real world. They are an opportunity to see from the artist’s point of view and look through the eyes of Rik Pinkcombe. We are looking directly at our world yet the esoteric implications of the title should urge us to look at ourselves. In this artificial world, how real are you?
Seventeen untitled images lead us through Rik Pinkcombe’s altered world “Hidden in Plain Sight”. It is a world full of questions with no intention of giving answers; a world where our perceptions are deliberately undermined; and, although hauntingly familiar, a world we cannot place within the realm we know as reality. As the title of the exhibition suggests, here lies a mystery within the ordinary.
Pinkcombe is a master of manipulating perceptions, dictating and ultimately challenging the way we see our own world. In several of his pictures he uses a technique of leaving buildings and structures in crisp and clear focus, while blurring their surroundings. This unnatural contrast distorts out perceptions lending the images an artificial quality. Buildings appear as if models in miniature; toy towns with toy cars parked in front. We find ourselves almost unconsciously asking “is this real?” - A fundamental question with which Pinkcombe has intentionally burdened us.
His more recent images capture isolated structures surrounded in a sea of darkness. Taken out of context, their isolation creates a similar sense of artificiality. Lit up as if from a spot light, it is as if they have become pieces of scenery for a stage. It could easily be believed that the parking ticket machine without its car park had been found in a television studio. While miniature models and stage scenery make the unreal seem real, here Pinkcombe has made the real seem unreal.
Each picture subtly removes us further from a normal perspective so that we are in a position to face pictures of a starkly realistic nature in a new light. We find ourselves studying a bus stop, a fire escape or a dilapidated house, far more intently than had we passed them in the street. Pinkcombe has indeed manipulated the focus of his lens and also the focus of his audience, elevating the once mundane and dull to the centre of our attention, where we find ourselves asking further questions about the nature of these images.
However, we are denied any information behind them. Even images of snow give us no clue as to what we are looking at, adding to the distance between ourselves and reality. Each untitled, we find ourselves in an anonymous world. Further emphasised by the absence of any individuals, the loss of identity is striking, whilst being presented with overt images of the impact of human civilisation. But where are the actors on this stage and where are the puppets in this toy town? Of course it is us and we are asked do we want to perform?
The artificiality of the world we have created for ourselves is suggested through Pinkcombe’s work where the man-made is so often set against the might of nature with disturbing consequences. The construction of a tiny city skyline beneath the vast sky seems an almost humorously pointless endeavour let alone the banality of a ticket machine or the travesty of a pile of tyres beneath a tree. We are forced to question our role within this world aided by the ability to look at reality through a changed perception.
Pinkcomb’es vision becomes most apparent in his triptych depicting the border of Mexico and the USA at night. It is taken from a large distance away reflecting the removed perspective he has created throughout the entire exhibition. From here we see clearest the crater humanity has made on the earth and itself through the scar on the landscape of the border. A self imposed boundary. A man-made division. The mass of lights and buildings and roads is intensely claustrophobic creating a great sense of pressure; a world about to burst at the seams. These three images suggest international unease, racial tension and all the stresses of living in this toy town we have made for ourselves. The loss of identity is felt most strong in these pictures, just a mass of people living and working together. The individual becomes lost as we see the human race from a removed perspective.
Despite the strangeness and uneasiness surrounding these images the most important point is that they are depictions of the real world. They are an opportunity to see from the artist’s point of view and look through the eyes of Rik Pinkcombe. We are looking directly at our world yet the esoteric implications of the title should urge us to look at ourselves. In this artificial world, how real are you?
Adam Gooding 2008
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Review of Just An Ordinary Life by Joanne Skeels
Review of Just An Ordinary Life
From Pamela Meyer Arndt, Just An Ordinary Life is a honest documentary revealing the personal motivations and inspirations behind three female photographers (Sibylle
Bergemann, Helga Paris and Gundula Schulze Eldowy)‘s series of photos of life in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), showing life before and after the Berlin wall, which was shown at the Focal Point Gallery.
What attracted me to this documentary was the personal motivations behind the photos, and how events in society (particularly significant ones such as the Berlin Wall and the war) can affect people’s artistic techniques. I saw the ‘Do not Refreeze’ photos in the gallery and was intrigued to the motivations and life of the photographers who dared to take these pictures in a time of oppression and dread.
The documentary revealed the background and life of each of the photographers, so you got a sense of knowing them personally, and how they evolved in both their techniques and as an artist. They gave personal stories behind the photos which gave a poignancy and realism to the people portrayed in the photos. On the other hand, some of the photos were shocking and explicit in nudity, and I felt that was not needed, it took away the poignancy.
The three photographers freely talked about their motivations and inspirations, and were not afraid to talk about issues such as censorship and being oppressed by the state not to show the photos. This freedom of speech in the film showed a persistent passion alive in each of the women.
The feminism view of the photographers and also the director could be criticised, it would have been nice to have a male voice to balance the contrast between male and female photographers in the GDR. It was felt that the film was not shared between the female photographers, so you felt more affinity with one artist compared to the others.
The technique and structure of the film was also a weakness. It jumped between the three artists, and there was a cross section of different issues and you got confused with who was who. It would be less confusing if it focused on one photographer, and then moved on to the next one. Having said that, the direction and clarity of the film, especially in showing the photos was superb.
Just An Ordinary Life gives a worthy conclusion to the series of photos in ‘Do Not Refreeze’ series, by providing the personal experiences and motivations of three of the artists. It gave a culture eye opener about life behind the Berlin Wall, and how life and art goes hand in hand. I specifically liked how it showed that in a country known for its harsh censorship and oppression, ‘the artistic urge’ as quoted in the film could not be stopped, and showed an honesty and realism of life in the shadow of the Berlin Wall.
By Joanne Skeels
From Pamela Meyer Arndt, Just An Ordinary Life is a honest documentary revealing the personal motivations and inspirations behind three female photographers (Sibylle
Bergemann, Helga Paris and Gundula Schulze Eldowy)‘s series of photos of life in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), showing life before and after the Berlin wall, which was shown at the Focal Point Gallery.
What attracted me to this documentary was the personal motivations behind the photos, and how events in society (particularly significant ones such as the Berlin Wall and the war) can affect people’s artistic techniques. I saw the ‘Do not Refreeze’ photos in the gallery and was intrigued to the motivations and life of the photographers who dared to take these pictures in a time of oppression and dread.
The documentary revealed the background and life of each of the photographers, so you got a sense of knowing them personally, and how they evolved in both their techniques and as an artist. They gave personal stories behind the photos which gave a poignancy and realism to the people portrayed in the photos. On the other hand, some of the photos were shocking and explicit in nudity, and I felt that was not needed, it took away the poignancy.
The three photographers freely talked about their motivations and inspirations, and were not afraid to talk about issues such as censorship and being oppressed by the state not to show the photos. This freedom of speech in the film showed a persistent passion alive in each of the women.
The feminism view of the photographers and also the director could be criticised, it would have been nice to have a male voice to balance the contrast between male and female photographers in the GDR. It was felt that the film was not shared between the female photographers, so you felt more affinity with one artist compared to the others.
The technique and structure of the film was also a weakness. It jumped between the three artists, and there was a cross section of different issues and you got confused with who was who. It would be less confusing if it focused on one photographer, and then moved on to the next one. Having said that, the direction and clarity of the film, especially in showing the photos was superb.
Just An Ordinary Life gives a worthy conclusion to the series of photos in ‘Do Not Refreeze’ series, by providing the personal experiences and motivations of three of the artists. It gave a culture eye opener about life behind the Berlin Wall, and how life and art goes hand in hand. I specifically liked how it showed that in a country known for its harsh censorship and oppression, ‘the artistic urge’ as quoted in the film could not be stopped, and showed an honesty and realism of life in the shadow of the Berlin Wall.
By Joanne Skeels
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