Neil Graham-Cameron & Sioned Eleri BA (Hons)
Interview
Profile
Biography
Gallery
Copyright of images belongs to the Artist.
Copyright of interview belongs to Ovenden
Contemporary (Art Promotions) Limited. Any
un-authorised use is strictly prohibited. All
rights are reserved.
(c) 2008 Ovenden Contemporary (Art Promotions)
Limited
Sion: Yes, there's a wonderful picture called
'Fox-terrier
on the Bridge of Arts'.
It's in four elements really- working from the
back we see the cityscape of Paris; in front of
that is an artist and his easel, with a picture
of a reclining nude on it; moving forward again
is a man with his back to the camera, leaning
sideways to see the canvas, then at the front is
the dog, looking straight to camera - perfect
composition, with the eye being led from the dog
and onward into the picture. Looking carefully,
you can see a shoe and part of the model's foot
as she sits on a bench.
Neil: And there's another of that scene - no man or dog in this one, just looking over the painter's shoulder at his canvas with the same nude on it, but now you can see the model, leaning fully clothed on the bench. Once again, humour.
Craig: If Doisneau uses his sense of humour in his images, which facets of your own personalities manifest themselves in your images?
Sion: Ah, leaving the easy questions 'till last, eh!? Given that many of my more recent images tend to include the shadow of something but not the thing itself, or shadows forming the shape of something quite different to that which is creating the shadow, maybe I should start to worry about some facets of my personality!
We reach the end of the jettied footpath as it leads into the corner of Jesus Green. There are lots of young mothers with posh pushchairs, feeding the ducks- the clement weather brings them out. Sion, Neil and I simultaneously step 'off' the footpath onto the grass. This action is automatic and self-preserving- the cyclists dominate the footpaths through the cities many parks and some of them travel at considerable speed. Walking on the grass is the sensible thing to do in Cambridge.
Craig: Do you use humour, like Doisneau?
Sion: I certainly think my sense of humour is at work in some of the juxtapositions I find and take pictures of.....there is a quirkiness in some of them that reflects my own, I think. What about you Neil?
Neil: Photography is an emotional experience for me. It stimulates observation and attentiveness. This might be an appreciation of a view of ‘natural’ beauty, but, it can also express itself by being drawn to, and excited by, more abstract forms and shapes modelled with strong light and dark shadow.
Craig: Sounds technical rather than emotional?
Neil: With a number of years designing three dimensional and two dimensional objects behind me, my instinct to record such shapes is inbuilt- but it's more than that.
Craig: How so?
Neil: Well, mood can strongly influence the image as well. You ‘see’ the image in your mind then evaluate the scene by looking through the viewfinder and asking, “How do I capture those visual ‘triggers’ that made me see the image in the first place?"
Evaluation and translation is a part of the image-making process for most Artists, whatever the medium or subject matter. We 'see' an image and have to convey it in a way that enables the viewer to understand 'aesthetically' what we are striving to achieve. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't- it's all a matter of translation really.
Neil & Sion bid me farewell and wander off in search of some abstract corner of the city as my mind turns to coffee. Not literally, of course - what was I saying about translation?
Neil: And there's another of that scene - no man or dog in this one, just looking over the painter's shoulder at his canvas with the same nude on it, but now you can see the model, leaning fully clothed on the bench. Once again, humour.
Craig: If Doisneau uses his sense of humour in his images, which facets of your own personalities manifest themselves in your images?
Sion: Ah, leaving the easy questions 'till last, eh!? Given that many of my more recent images tend to include the shadow of something but not the thing itself, or shadows forming the shape of something quite different to that which is creating the shadow, maybe I should start to worry about some facets of my personality!
We reach the end of the jettied footpath as it leads into the corner of Jesus Green. There are lots of young mothers with posh pushchairs, feeding the ducks- the clement weather brings them out. Sion, Neil and I simultaneously step 'off' the footpath onto the grass. This action is automatic and self-preserving- the cyclists dominate the footpaths through the cities many parks and some of them travel at considerable speed. Walking on the grass is the sensible thing to do in Cambridge.
Craig: Do you use humour, like Doisneau?
Sion: I certainly think my sense of humour is at work in some of the juxtapositions I find and take pictures of.....there is a quirkiness in some of them that reflects my own, I think. What about you Neil?
Neil: Photography is an emotional experience for me. It stimulates observation and attentiveness. This might be an appreciation of a view of ‘natural’ beauty, but, it can also express itself by being drawn to, and excited by, more abstract forms and shapes modelled with strong light and dark shadow.
Craig: Sounds technical rather than emotional?
Neil: With a number of years designing three dimensional and two dimensional objects behind me, my instinct to record such shapes is inbuilt- but it's more than that.
Craig: How so?
Neil: Well, mood can strongly influence the image as well. You ‘see’ the image in your mind then evaluate the scene by looking through the viewfinder and asking, “How do I capture those visual ‘triggers’ that made me see the image in the first place?"
Evaluation and translation is a part of the image-making process for most Artists, whatever the medium or subject matter. We 'see' an image and have to convey it in a way that enables the viewer to understand 'aesthetically' what we are striving to achieve. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't- it's all a matter of translation really.
Neil & Sion bid me farewell and wander off in search of some abstract corner of the city as my mind turns to coffee. Not literally, of course - what was I saying about translation?
continued....
