.RAW — Graduate Photo Exhibition This work represents a wide range of photographers and artists, seeking reco gnition and acclaim. As emerging talent they engage with the possibilities for photography as a visual language today, with their work drawn from different moments and disparate and divergent contexts. The photography and art world has witnessed enormous changes over the last years, so it is encouraging to see such inspiration and a group so positive about their futures. The exhibition sets out to explore the ways in which photography is used in contemporary culture and represents specific projects relevant to contemporary themes.
Mike England — Programme Leader
Photographers — Exhibitiors Adam Bowman Anna Bridges Annie Pendlebury Annika Savola Charlotte Nichols Chris Mullen Eleanor de Chastelain Simpson Frances Hawkins George Platt Gillian Gilbert Jacob Crabtree John Christopher Wrightson Julie Elise Katie Forde Kim Mair
Laura Ramsey Nicola Chambers Nikita Heaton Oliver Fieldsend Peter Greenwood Rebecca Anderton Sally Wilde Sarah Jackson Sarah Whiting Simon Whyte Stephanie Halsall Tania Gibson Will Coombs Zoe Daffern Zuzanna Sikorska
Adam Bowman — Rules for life in hiding - The Room “…seven, never create anything. It will be misinterpreted, it will chain you and follow you for the rest of your life and it will never change” - Arthur Rimbaud For the longest time it was easier to withdraw into The Room, away from the need to create and to mingle with others, cut off from all but the digital world. This part of the ‘Rules for life in hiding’ project is a response to my introverted nature taking over nearly all aspects of life. Whenever the urge to lock The Room and hide under covers took root, the camera became the best tool at hand to stave off isolation. It forcefully dragged me into action and to create something that marked progress against The Room’s hold.
Abowmanphotography@gmail.co.uk destroytheaperture.com
Anna Bridges — Your Past, My Present We are constantly faced with decisions and choices in our day-to-day lives, most of which we make without too much consideration. Often, it is only when facing ‘life changing’ events that force us to stop and deliberate that we, perhaps, are more aware of drawing on past experiences to help us in reaching a decision. Being in the final year of my degree, this transitional period in my life has caused a lot of self-evaluation in order to help me make that next informed step. I find myself often reflecting on what makes me, me. When I was younger I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents, with many of my childhood memories revolving around them. Now, always wanting to know what’s going on in our lives, they rarely talk about their past. I feel it’s important to know who brought me up. The people and events in their lives have helped form traditions and memories and in turn their past has influenced my upbringing, shaping my own life choices. I want to make sure that I don’t lose out on knowing my grandparents as well as they know me, and in the process of discovery find out more about myself.
anna.bridges86@gmail.com
Annie Pendlebury-Beal — ‘Walk the Line’ This project focuses on the history behind the landscape in areas crossing the borders of Cumbria and Northumberland. These spaces hold special personal significance, as I was born and grew up here. The work in the series examines evidence of what remains from the past and highlights how nature is reclaiming the land. The project ‘Walk the Line’ follows Lord Carlisle’s railway from its start in Brampton, Cumbria to its finish in Lambley, Northumberland. The line can be traced back to the late seventeenth century, when work began to create the railway, as a cheaper alternative way of transporting coal, lime and iron ore to the surrounding areas. It was in operation for 154 years until the 31st March 1953 when it was sold for scrap, after the closure of the last Midgeholme drift mine. The work reflects back to the industrial past of the area, which was then a key part of the economy. It also reveals current uses of the line, for example as a cycle track and bridleway. The images in this project take the viewer on a journey along the line, capturing what remains in a series of typologies. The central point of the images is the continuation of the line, expressing movement along the railway through time.
anniependlebury-beal@gmail.com
Annika Savola, — Teuvantie 13 Teuvantie 13 is an autobiographical work that explores detail in the photographer’s home in Finland. These features were once unseen but became visible when revisiting the place. This work examines the idea of home; where it is and what does it take to make one feel at home.
Charlotte Nichols — Windscapes Today’s landscape has changed dramatically. Wind turbines are evident in most places we go. This series focuses on Cumbria, travelling around sites where wind farms are in operation, areas where planning has been put in place, and locations where additional sites have been declined. I work in a panoramic format stitching images together as I feel it gives the viewer a better understanding of the landscape, as they not only see one aspect of the land; they see many.
charlotte-nichols@hotmail.co.uk behance.net/cnicholsphotography
Chris Mullen — X-ray X-ray is a project based around my partners experience undergoing spinal surgery. This project marks the end of a time filled with vicious pain for my partner and stands as a symbol of hope regarding the wonders of medical innovation. I wanted to look into the process of being healed or repaired by medical means. To do this I have explored the idea of X-rays and their ability to reveal what the naked eye does not see. I have used X-rays in my images to express the repairs that have taken place within the body. These images present a fairly dark atmosphere in that they remain gritty and messy; yet the idea that lies within them gives hope to anyone who may live under similar circumstances. This combination of images symbolizes the physical repair resolving the pain my subject was suffering.
cmullenphoto@gmail.com cmullenphoto.com
Eleanor de Chastelain Simpson — eyeMAXtv Working in a cinema one of the things you see regularly is little kids running down to the front to gaze directly up at the big screen. That desire to experience the feeling of something wider than their eyes took me back to being a child, sitting in front of what were then small box TV screens and wanting the image to be bigger. Gluing your eyes to the screen forces your brain to retune. In the last century artists like Peit Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, etc. premiered new visual perspectives. Now it’s technology that leads. Creatives like Michael Wolf and Andreas Gursky use software not symbolism, revealing rather than interpreting what’s actually there. Mine is the TV age, domestically framed in its settings, but more intense in its pleasures. In a pixel led age, remastering doesn’t always mean mastery: sometimes its regeneration. Terrestrial TV’s standards may look crappy now, but that’s how I remember them. HD versions of pre-digital programmes look just too glitch free. These frames contain my visual and emotional memories. Rewind and repeat. I got bigger. TV got smaller. Digital got wider. Eye stayed the same.
eleanor.dc.photography@gmail.com eleanordcphotography.weebly.com/
Frances Hawkins — Fragments of Life Events in life never go according to plan. They change, evolve and disappear. This is how we learn and adapt to the circumstances that take place. These three bodies of work were taken before, during and after my father’s death. Although ambiguous, they link my life and the history of Northumberland with the identity of my father. This has become a cathartic process. By exploring my landscape, as well as my past and future, this work has become a form of photographic therapy that may resonate with others.
frances_hawkins@hotmail.com franceshawkins.co.uk
George Platt — Between The Chunks of Grass Memory is a precious, finite commodity that we all possess; however throughout our lives we are each conditioned to believe that it is an inexhaustible well. Recollections that offer us security and comfort ground us in sensations of grief, nostalgia, and past joy that include the people that we once knew but no longer do. We never stop to think that these memories, these experiences that shape our very person, may one day simply never be recalled again and we will carry on regardless. There are only so many times we might remember the scent of new rain upon the pavement of our childhood home, or the sound of our grandparents unique laugh resonating through the rooms our mother or father grew up in. ‘Between the chunks of grass’ is my attempt to rediscover these lost memories and archive them within a simple book bound in catharsis. By revisiting a particular place of my childhood, Morecambe Bay, I researched into the history of the area. This work is the result of that combination, and it forms a vivid narrative which chronicles my memories of adolescence.
gsplatt100@gmail.com
Gillian Gilbert — ‘Walter’ This work is an exploration into a chosen way of life that examines an individuals’ social identity through the way he lives and the space he occupies. Walter has been a keeper of bees for over 25 years, a woodsman for longer and a kayaker for many years and generously shares his knowledge with others so they may enjoy what he knows. As a woodsman working on a country estate Walter has planted, nurtured and maintained a variety of woodland. He expressed his hope that the oak he planted 19 years ago and will mature in 200 years or so, are valued and put to good use once harvested. Although living a life perfectly in tune with his surroundings, Walter hasn’t turned his back on technology, he uses this to his advantage and will happily use said technologies whilst continuing to live a life that is firmly grounded in the land.
hello@gilliangilbert.com gilliangilbert.com
Jacob Crabtree — Cobb I create work influenced by my observations and interests, exploring documentary and narrative based photography. Projects emerge from reading, watching television and playing video games, to walking outside and observing the environment around me. I take photographs that can be read as both obvious and ambiguous, one project can be very explanatory and another takes a more interpretive approach. Cobb is a fictional character; part of my imagination rather than my personality, his existence runs through my head like a movie on a film reel. For me, it was always a cinematic and ambiguous body of work that taps into multiple realities. A surreal dreamlike narrative allows the lines of reality to blur; Cobb’s story becomes clearer but retains an element of doubt. The cinematic atmosphere illuminates the narrative; yet leaves space for the imagination.
j.a.crabtree@live.co.uk jacobphotography.co.uk
John Christopher Wrightson — White Stuff Moral philosopher Immanuel Kant told us that we must not see a person as a means to an end, as a ‘mere’ object, a tool for one’s purpose. The problem I find is that the camera can only ever see the person for their objective presence, regardless of my attempts to represent them as subjects. Due to the ambiguity of the photograph, we can only ever agree on the objects within, and apply our subjective interpretation to them. “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” – Rene Magritte
info@jcwrightson.com jcwrightson.com/
Julie Elise — I never saw Niagara. I have always known that I am adopted. At the age of eighteen I decided to find out where I came from and who my birth parents are. Discovering that my birth Mother lives in Ontario, Canada, I travelled to meet her with high hopes in 2008. Unfortunately it did not work out and the reality of the situation was emotionally damaging, leaving me with many issues and hurts to deal with. Photography is my chosen medium to express my emotions and inner conflicts; each of my images has significance, not only being taken simply for aesthetic qualities. It helps me understand and channel otherwise trapped feelings; actively creating something therapeutic rather than harbouring negative or lost emotions. These images are a visual response to the realisation of how this event affected my life and mental state; and how there was no available emotional help or counselling that could ease my trauma. Instead I created my own form of art therapy to deal with these painful issues of rejection, family and identity. Using photography to explore these feelings I’ve formed a visual narrative of my slow recovery after such an emotionally damaging period in my life. I will always have to live with the memory of this but through my expression I can now deal with my emotions.
Juliedotelise@me.com
Katie Forde — Age of Innocence Most children today are rushing through their childhood far too quickly because of the pressures from society and the media. They seem to have completely lost their innocence. I am trying to capture that innocence in the children I have photographed by showing that it’s still there, but they are simply being rushed to act older than they actually are. Growing up I enjoyed a guilt free and blameless childhood. However, when I moved to high school I felt like there was pressure to suddenly act a lot older than I wanted to; being forced to change from the person I was at primary school because of the pressure from my peers and society. These images are an emotional and outraged response to the societal demands on children today; the work that I have created is my way of channelling my concerns about these current anxieties.
Kim Mair — And So The Story Goes Exploration into the traditional versions of popular fairy tales inspired this series of portraits. Unlike the original versions that had dark undertones to them, investigation into how they have been made innocent over time has influenced the project. The style and lighting used reflect the tone of the story being told and are reminiscent of the Dutch Golden paintings, which were predominant around the time the original stories were written.
kimberleymair@gmail.co.uk
Laura Ramsey — Amen Laura Ramsey is a British photographer from North London. Since studying at the University of Cumbria, she has developed an interest in making political and social statements with her work. Her current piece of work, ‘Amen.’ Addresses the issue of sexual assault in relation to Catholicism, from biblical stories to 21st Century cases. Using self-portraits as a medium to express her views and beliefs, this project enabled her to confront a taboo topic. It also allowed her to question assumed boundaries and visually explore a current issue, which tends to be silenced and hidden by the church. From 2001 to 2010 the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church, has “considered sex abuse allegations concerning about 3,000 priests dating back up to 50 years” (according to the Vatican’s promoter of Justice). Cases worldwide reflect patterns of long-term institutional abuse and cover-ups. This project gives you an insight into what happens behind closed doors. The cover-ups are being uncovered.
laura-ramsey@live.com facebook.com/pages/Laura-Ramsey-Photography/175360839277248
Nicola Chambers — Touching the Surface We have all experienced pain at some point in our lives, be it from injury, illness or small unexplainable pain. The sensation itself is difficult to describe, commonly explained through simple words such as, throb, tension, sharpness etc. There are many causes of pain which can be explored in depth but still only be scratching the surface of the subject. Touching the Surface explores my personal experience with unexplained pain and how I have dealt with this issue. We only notice being in pain when a reaction or description is made. Not only is pain a physical feeling it triggers emotional responses which allows others to see the severity and discomfort that they themselves cannot feel.
Nikita Heaton — My Beautiful World This body of work is a personal project reflecting upon life in my final year at University. The excitement of the future is underpinned with fears of the unknown; my photographs aim to convey these fears of change across to the viewer and try to instil a feeling of gratitude towards the positive aspects of their life as it stands. The images are about appreciating what I have now, cherishing them whilst not knowing what I will have in the future. Working as a series, they represent what I have in my life currently, whilst I have the security of knowing that they are still there.
nikitaheatonphotography@hotmail.co.uk facebook.com/NikitaHeatonPhotography
Oliver Fieldsend — S.A.D Oliver Fieldsend is a photographer based in the North of England. His images are a personal statement about society as it stands at the moment. Self-exploration is a key part of his work conveying thoughts and fears that he struggles with on a daily basis. Oliver feels as though the art of conversation in its truest form has almost completely evaporated from his life. The influx in a wide variety of modern communication techniques has reduced his desire to speak to people face to face. Instead, he prefers to take a less confrontational approach via a text message or a social networking platform. This has left him feeling like an outsider in most social situations. S.A.D is an acronym for Social Anxiety Disorder and the images in this series represent the humanisation of a television set. The suggestion that people use the television as a form of company when living alone is transformed into a new scenario where the TV itself is portrayed as a being, undertaking everyday tasks which mimic those of the artist.
oliverfieldsendphoto@gmail.com @ofieldsendphoto
Peter Greenwood — A Matter of Expression A Matter of Expression is a photography-based project about the slightest twitch of the facial muscles that cause micro-expressions. I created these images by getting each subject to talk about an experience that underlies one of these categories: fear, happiness, anger and embarrassment. By forcing each subject to re-live the memories, I am able to photograph these micro-expressions. This project is influenced by the research and work of Dr. Paul Ekman, who is the leading researcher into micro-expressions and was the first to notice that expressions are shown at the fast speed of 1/25th of a second.
Rebecca Anderton — Catharsis ca.thar.sis; noun; The purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially though certain kinds of art. The theme of ‘Catharsis’ is implied by the definition. The work is about dealing with emotions through a camera lens. People sometimes struggle to deal with emotions, but turning them into a physical image can aid them in coming to terms with the experiences they are dealing with. The work I create is a reflection of myself. When they are displayed collectively they show aspects of my life that I otherwise wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing. The subtext within the images gives them their meaning and explanation. Whenever I photograph I use the work to help myself come to terms with something that’s happening within my life at the time. My images are always a way of expressing my emotions in a more constructive and stable manner than I would if I didn’t turn to photography. This is where my passion in the art form stemmed from and what keeps it so strong throughout my projects and life.
randertonphotography@gmail.com
Sally Wilde — A Recipe for Disaster Just like a recipe, the images exhibited are the result of my passion for baking, mixed with a large measure of anger, an array of kitchen utensils and the final ingredient, a digital camera. Creating bespoke cupcakes takes a lot of time, patience and dedication only for them to be eaten. Therefore the appraisal of their classy appearance and delightful taste is very short lived. This disregard of the effort that is put in to create them sparked a rage within me. Consequently, the destruction and massacre of these cupcakes is a violent reaction and way of addressing these feelings. Food photography is something I have grown to love and appreciate since establishing my own cupcake business at the start of 2012. Capturing photographs of my baked creations has become a regular occurrence for promotional purposes, but through the medium of photography I have managed to create a body of work from these little bodies of sponge.
sally_cupcake@hotmail.co.uk sallycupcake.co.uk
Sarah Jackson — The Last Refuge Sarah’s work is very much a visual representation of herself; she tries to work around themes and ideas that directly affect her life. She often works from memory and experience, focusing on both her own and others memories and experiences, looking at how they see themselves. She also makes a conscious effort to tackle issues through a visual medium because communicating this way is how she expresses herself most effectively. This project looks into the life and employment of her mother, who worked for over thirty years for the Ministry of Defense electronics factory in her hometown. The images document factory workers desks, using the desks as a means of understanding the workers and their role in the industry. Within this project she addresses the issues of the decline of industry within the UK. Furthermore, dealing with feelings about her own role as a teenage munitions factory employee; as well as her awareness of the impact that working in this industry could have in relation to armed conflict.
photosarahjackson@gmail.com photosarahjackson.com
Sarah Whiting — Cruel To Be Kind Sarah Whiting is a photographer from the South of England. Cumbria has proven to be the ideal environment that has created many opportunities to initiate new experiences and ventures. The main subjects of her work are nature and conservation. The current project Cruel To Be Kind tackles the issues surrounding endangered species in captivity. Almost every species in the world that is endangered is so because of human actions, whether through hunting or destroying their habitat. This project investigates the human relationship with animals in captivity and the paradox of confining wild animals in order to ensure their survival. The effects of human presence on the animals life are reinforced in the images through reflections of people in the animals enclosures. The reflections leave impressions of people and their cameras over the animals, highlighting the disappearance of the animals in the wider world and the voyeuristic quality of the zoo.
sarahwhitingphotography.blogspot.co.uk sarahwhitingphotography@gmail.com
Simon Whyte — Some Place and Home Each of us has some place we consider home, a place we grew up that shaped us into the individuals we are today. As we grow older our home changes for better or for worse, but we never forget where we came from. This project, ‘Some Place and Home’ looks at the ever changing historic town of Whitehaven and the areas around it. Situated on the west coast of Cumbria the town lies isolated, away from many points of interest. In the last 10 years many of the areas I remember so well, from growing up there, have simply vanished into memory. Originally the project stemmed from a desire to reminisce on those places that no longer exist. The images reveal traces of what once was but now cease to be. With the ever changing industry withdrawing from areas like this, sadly these scenes are becoming an increasingly common sight.
simonwhytephotography@gmail.com
Stephanie Halsall — Khorosho In my latest project I have decided to take a trip into the unknown exploring a different community of people and their way of life. This project is an investigation into the way identity can hold together a community and help to restore morale. These images taken in Mogilev, Belarus depict the way that the Belarusian communities are currently living, 26 years after the Chernobyl disaster. It shows how their traditions have helped the community to keep up hope and carry on through the struggles that they face. This work takes a look behind closed doors, photographing families in their homes and the places that they feel most at ease and connected to. As a photographer I have always been curious about what isn’t usually seen by everyone else. Continuously striving to learn new things and gain new experiences, developing an understanding of the way that people, places and things function.
Sh_photography@live.co.uk Stephaniehalsall-photography.blogspot.co.uk
Tania Gibson — Hotel Bonheur This work is contained within the setting of the fictional Hotel Bonheur and evokes through cinematic storytelling my private anxieties reflected through the stories of random individuals. The only connection being their fleeting stay at the hotel. The complex atmospheres of the 1950’s are portrayed through different emotional contradictions that are present through each of the stories, and share a sense of melancholic elegance. Hotel Bonheur is also a film and book of the same name.
gibson.tania@gmail.com taniagibson.dk
Will Coombs — Border Foresters I am a photographer focused on people who live and work in Britain’s rural environment; people, who live a tactile existence in a modern world by building, planting, growing and physically investing in the future. Through photography, I observe the aging process and the effect of manual labour on the body in the 21st century; in people such as foresters, joiners, hostlers and farmers. In this series I have observed the act of planting coniferous trees such as Sitka and Norway Spruce, by commercial foresters in the Scottish Borders. These portraits also include voluntary members of the Carrifran Wildwood project based near Moffat in Southern Scotland. The aim of the Wildwood project is to restore the valley of Carrifran to resemble as closely as possible the virgin woods of 6000 years ago before its deforestation. The planting of deciduous species such as Birch, Oak and Hazel will increase the biodiversity of this area.
will.coombs@hotmail.com willcoombs.blogspot.com
Zoe Daffern — Per Ardua Ad Astra Through Struggles to the Stars Through Struggles to the Stars is a photography project revisiting rural Lincolnshire during the Second World War; looking at the scars that remain today from this time. Based around experiences of RAF veterans, the work focuses on remnants of these experiences, which still endures today. Visits to aviation heritage centres have been a key component in my research for this study. The work has also been informed by memoirs from family members and poets who have written about their experiences of the Second World War. This contribution to .RAW is a nostalgic study of personal history and heritage through photographing historic artifacts as metaphorical representations of a bygone era. When removed from their natural surroundings, the items photographed become detached, almost unrecognizable and unimportant to some, but these artifacts can also be the trigger to memories. These are so much more than “things�, they are lives and histories explored.
Zoedaffernphotography@gmail.com
Zuzanna Sikorska — Step Back In Time Without knowing our past, we are not able to appreciate our present and value our future. Were it not for our ancestors acting to improve their own lives, the legacy we follow would not be as developed. On one hand, present generations should be grateful to those who have come before, and what they have left for us. On the other hand, continuation of their legacy is arguably the greatest service we can do to honour them. People have experienced constant changes in the appearance and functionality of the towns and cities they live in, this is affected by the passage of time. The idea behind this project was to reach back in time, exploring old archived photographs of the city of Carlisle, as an observation of how it has changed over the centuries. To discover what past generations created for us, how the next generations can improve it and how we can subsequently take care of what remains. This project also serves as my personal thank you to the city of Carlisle, that has hosted me so kindly for the full extent of my time at university in Great Britain. I would also like to thank Cumbria Image Bank for letting me use the archival images in my project.
zuzanna.sikorska@hotmail.com
05th till 12th June 2013 — rawexhibition.com