Congregation
Artist: David Miller
20.07.07 - 12.08.07
The second show at Crowd6, featured work by Birmingham based artist David Miller. A new wall was built in the gallery to split the space into two distinct areas, one with four large scale 'photographic drawings' of hooded figures, one with seven images of apple blossom, find out more about the delicious dandy at www.mysterdavid.co.uk
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Above: the four hooded figures drawn by David Miller, using torchlight on large scale photographic paper.
Links:
Organizations:
A.A.S., Colony,[insertspace], Springhill Institute, 7inch Cinema, Pub Conversations, Ikon,
Artists:
David Thomas, David Miller, Jinpow, Anne Guest, Feng-Ru Lee, Simon and Tom Bloor, WebsterGotts,
Blogs:
Art Stalking, Ben Neal,Created in Brimingham, 7inch
Hand Drawn Photographs
David Miller describes his large images of hooded figures found to the rear of the gallery as ‘photographic drawings’ a term that combines two usually exclusive descriptions. The ‘drawings’ are made through the photographic process, the artist using a torchlight like a pencil, drawing directly onto the large photosensitive paper. During development the marks made by the torch are reversed into their negative, and the light becomes shadow.
The images lead the viewer through interpretations of modern and ancient hooded characters; horsemen of the apocalypse, hoodies, terrorists, the grim reaper. They hang at an imposing angle, shrinking the gallery space and intimidating the viewer. Whilst this creates wide and fantastical readings, the apparent use of photography leaves a nagging notion that each image is tied to a specific moment in time.
Above: The seven images of apple blossom, photgraphed and re-photographed by Miller
Apple Blossom
In contrast to the hooded figures are seven small prints showing images of apple blossom. The images appear to be fragmenting into small dots of colour. Miller has photographed the blossom and printed the images using an inkjet printer. The prints are then re-photographed and enlarged, revealing the small dots of individual colour made by the printer. The images lend themselves to biblical interpretations (the garden of Eden) and traditional Japanese notions of seasonal beauty, but revealing the method of production highlights the space in between the dots of colour. As the viewer becomes aware of the process the range of references is disturbed, and the interpretations fade.
Left: installation view, the artist, David Miller stands amid the Congregation.
