NIGHT / LIGHT - recent photography by Remy Dean

Night / Light - an exhibition of recent photography by Remy Dean will be on show this summer until 10 September 2011, at Oriel Maenofferen Gallery, Llyfrgell Blaenau Ffestiniog Library, Canolfan Maenofferen, Blaenau Ffestiniog, LL41 3DL. Telephone: 01766 830415.

Apart from the Ghosts of 1513 series, which spans the Atlantic from Spain to Florida, most of the images have been made in and around the Blaenau Ffestiniog area and deal with light and movement. There are 45 pictures in total. Alongside my photographs, I am pleased to say, there will be an opportunity to see some small-scale sculpture work and a hand-pressed book by Mark Eaglen.

Here, by way of an 'artists statement' relating to the exhibition, is an extract from an interview with Remy Dean conducted by Kim Vertue:

Why did you choose photography as your medium?

Photography attracts me for many reasons. Almost by definition, it is representational because it mimics our own visual interaction with the world we share. I am interested in the relationship of subject, technology, human action and a time constraint of a few seconds. The resulting images range from fairly traditional landscapes to pictures that are closer to abstract expressionism. The aesthetic of light set in darkness also appeals to me. Many Magicians and religious orders wear dark cloths to represent the void, where creative and spiritual powers are born. The light from stars has travelled vast distances through the void of space to inspire both the poet and the scientist. I am interested in images where captured light can give the impression of being a solid construct, or where light can transform a solid structure, such as a building, into an insubstantial ghost-form.

What or who are the main influences and inspiration for your work?

Compositionally, I look at Joan Miro, Kazimir Malevich, Cy Twombly, Franz Marc, Kandinsky and Klee. Conceptually, I look to Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Beuys. Poetically, I think my work is under the influence of many… William Blake, Richard Long, Scott Walker, Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, David McComb, John Foxx… the Gothick Romantics…

How do you see your work developing?

The weather, natural light effects and moods of the mountains can change in a moment and I would like to attempt to capture more of the transient conditions that only people who are lucky enough to live here, in Snowdonia, really get to know. I will also continue exploring technological and human interfaces and possibly become more interventionist, to the point of staging visual fictions…

(An image from the Ghosts of 1513 also appears as the cover image for the book Evolution of Western Art...)

Selected photographs from this exhibition are also featured in this on-line gallery (Pinterest)