Space Gallery, Folkestone’s independent gallery, is delighted to host an exhibition of new works by three artists who share a common fascination with the liminal atmosphere and ever-evolving landscape of Dungeness beach.
These three men have been involved with the beach at Dungeness for many
years - ‘Drifting’, absorbing and recording golden moments.
The resulting photographs, paintings, prints and installations have been
developed through close personal encounters with the remarkable geography
of this giant cuspate foreland.
Their work has been made on the spot or developed over a period of years to
echo the beach’s relentless tradition of an overall slow melding of the macro
with the micro.
Together, their works reflect a depth of engagement and exploration in
translating complex issues of a (macro) permanent environment co-existing
with determined (micro) human activity and the weathered pathos of
impermanent development.
“Dungeness is like no other place. When Andrew first brought in his
series of photos ‘Longshore Drift’, we knew it was something that would
work really well in Space Gallery. Now that the show has evolved and is to
feature three really talented artists all with a different view on the same
unique landscape, we can’t wait to see it all come together”. Space Gallery
-Ends-
Editors' notes:
Andrew Sullivan
Studied graphic design at Hastings, Bournemouth and Croydon Colleges
of
Art and Design. During a career that has spanned over 20 years he has
worked
for such clients as Shell, Ferrari, Nissan, British Airways, BBC, ITV,
Dorchester
Hotel and London Fashion Week. He’s currently the Creative Director
at
Blacknight Design, a design agency based in the South East of England,
which
he formed in 2009. He has exhibited his paintings, photographs in various
galleries and venues in and around the South East of England and London.
The photographs featured in this exhibition are from a series called
‘Longshore Drift’. The series observes the ever-evolving visual
language of
the beach at Dungeness through the revealing typography, graphic marks
and
textures that adorn the sides of containers, huts, fishing boats and
various other
discarded objects that over time have populated the beach. The images
talk of
a language of time through decay; a coded history from within the weathered
layers. The series also documents the survival of a fishing industry
that has
worked this stretch of beach for generations.
Paddy Hamilton
Paddy Hamilton’s approach to painting, drawing, printmaking and
commissioned work embraces an earthy conceptualism. The intention is
always to avoid the unnecessary and make work without complication
or the need for lengthy explanation.
That which surrounds us forms the basis for work. Landscape, the human
form, a shared experience, abstract ideas, colour and paint itself are
all worthy
subjects for exploration.
Resulting paintings and prints are thematic without a conscious style
- some
projects reach a conclusion - others are self-sustaining with endless
variations
on a common theme.
Born 1964, Kitwe, Zambia. Degree education, Chelsea School of Art.
Lives & works on Dungeness beach.
Marc Christmas
Ashford, Kent, England. Studied photography at Bournemouth and Poole
of Art
and Design. Marc lives on the South Coast and currently lectures in
photography
at Higher Education level. He continues to explore number themes in
his work,
shooting medium format digital as well as large format film, producing
a large
output of personal and commissioned work, in order to satisfy his passion
for image making.
This body of work explores the function and the codes of the Dungeness
community. My intentions are sometimes concerned with chance encounters
and resulting connections within the landscape. And at other times I
make
reference to appropriated objects of labour and their function to create
‘new stories’ for these objects.
Some but not all the resulting work questions ideas about the limitations
of photography and specifically how the line between photography and
other
art forms, in particular sculpture, is being blurred in contemporary
photographic practice.
