Jamaican artist, Nigel Scott, is one of a handful of eminent contemporary photographers who have turned back the clock and invested much time and energy in nineteenth century photographic methods. Nigel is a photographer who sees not only an image, but a finely crafted print.

This mode of making photographs, like the technique of “shadow picturing”, or the art of cutting silhouettes in black paper so popular at the beginning of Atkins century, actually point towards one of the principal tenets of twentieth century modernism; the replacement of the Renaissance ideal of composing pictures in some sort of imagined depth with a method of composing virtually on the picture plane. The photogram is in fact simply another method of “shadow picturing”. This is, of course, what Nigel exploits to full advantage. His aesthetics may at times mimic Atkins nineteenth century way of composing, but at others will adopt undeniably twentieth century modes as well.

The title "Conversations with Blue" is a dialogue between him and the ocean and nature, and a message toward people looking at the book. For the most part the natural objects that Nigel utilizes, mostly ?owers, ferns and leaves, are care-fully chosen for their shape and occasional transparencies. The substrates on which the cyanotypes are realized, either top quality Arches paper or a variety of silks, including a gold-coloured silk, are also carefully matched with the objects. All is arranged with the deft simplicity and precision of an ikebana artist. As you may see in his large pieces is a line in the middle which divides the piece. Nigel refers to this as a "horizon". He first got this idea when he was in the water waiting for waves but this technique did give further depth into his works, creating a new dimension.

Nigel Scott has exhibited at the National Gallery on two occasions: the 2006 and 2008 National Biennial Exhibitions. The three works in 2006 were photograms close in spirit to many in his book.

David Boxer (paraphrased) Chief Curator The National Gallery of Jamaica

Known for his fashion work since the early 80?s, Scott continues to investigate a world of his own invention as a photographer. Scott’s reverence for the places he lives (Paris, New York and Toronto) is continually returned with photographic inspiration. Currently he lives and works in New York, USA. Nigel first started cyanotype as an homage to memories of his mother who loved flowers and plants. After he started surfing, his thoughts towards water became very important, which resulted in connecting the blue of the water and the blue of the prints within himself. For Nigel blue is a quiet, friendly and tranquil color. He also said hopefully people will link the blue to the environment and the ocean since there is only one ocean, and everything ends up there.

Nadège David
May 2012

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Self-educated Vietnam-based French artist, Nadège David, studied philosophy and sociology in Paris. Nadège's artistic calling came to her during the writing of her thesis in Political Philosophy where the words faded as her unpredictable strength of revelation of her black ink drawings came to life.

Nadège has been exhibiting since 2007, where her works have been featured in various solo and group exhibitions across Vietnam. One of her drawings has been placed in a permanent collection in the Post Vidai collection and she regularly collaborates with Vietnam's leading contemporary art gallery, Galerie Quynh. For each drawing, French artist Nadège's inspiration arises from the unpredictability of ink, the precision of biological drawing and the aesthetic potency of Asian expression. This self-taught artist has always been fascinated by the meticulous accuracy of scientific and anatomical drawing, magnifying a nature rich in detail; an aesthetic of complexity. During her stay in Beijing, the rice paper stood out as an important medium of painting her experiences. She is seduced by the transparency and fragility of the paper that blends perfectly with the strength of black ink.

In Nadège's drawings, the rigor of detail, this complex machinery, is always faced with the unpredictable, the accident. Her twisted webs of black lines create lines that are occasionally interrupted by blotches of ink, the will of the paper, the demand of the nascent form. The use of Chinese ink or watercolor has its origin in an Asian pictorial tradition where the bottom line is seized by ink strokes of a fuzzy precision; which David very much admires in the works of one of her aspiring artists, Qi Baishi. Brought up with these influences, Nadège tells the story of characters in movement, precipitated in the world where their biological body runs up against the unpredictable encounters of “The Other”.

In this edition of four drawings, the characters wear costumes, to dress up as another. However, this game is not insignificant. The fact to be stuck on someone, to hide oneself behind a mask is not without consequence. The body, the thoughts, the behaviors, the environment will enter into a new dialogue. These drawings offer a look at the spectacle of this game and its effects. Here, this dissolution will be played on the territory of the dragon, fox, organ and mineral.

 

 

K-Narf
April 2012

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French - Australian artist, K-NARF, was born in France in 1970. Accented with a strong focus on photo graffiti, his works are conceptual, experimental, and denounces the incoherencies, extravagances and aberrations of our time. To him, photography is an outstanding medium to use for the creation of art that is personally enjoyable.

Often in the form of ephemeral installations, K-NARF shows his works without distinction in places ranging from galleries and art biennales, to old theatres, operating plants and abandoned garages. Having exhibited in many countries including Japan, Australia, France, USA, Italy and Singapore, his works were also featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, the Museum of Sydney, Japan Foundation for the Arts, the Yves Klein Archives, the French Embassy in Tokyo as well as the Arles Photo Festival.

 

 

Emi Uchida
February 2012

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Emi Uchida is a strong believer in Japan’s unique culture, and found her interest in Shunga – a Japanese form of erotic art that dates back to the Edo Period (1603 – 1868) – through the carefree artistic expression of the commoners’ sexual enjoyment. Through her art, Emi marries distinct characters and themes from traditional Japan contrasted with modern iconic characters such as Doraemon, Astroboy and Hello-Kitty, making them pertinent portrayals of both Japan’s past and present.

Emi studied realistic painting techniques with established painter Mineko Ando from a very young age, and graduated in 1991 with a degree in Fine Art. Since then, she has risen and emerged in eminent galleries and art fairs including the Hennan Art Museum, Onishi Gallery and the Daegu Art Fair in countries such as Singapore, Japan, USA, China and South Korea.

 

 

Kim Xu
January 2012

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Kim's art very much reflects his personality and life experiences, fusing both traditional Chinese watercolour techniques - a skill he learned from his grandfather - and Western- style oil-based techniques. This combination creates truly unique pieces that speak of beauty, passion, love and despair. He is regularly praised as one of China's most important up-and-coming artists.

Kim's work has been the focus of a number of high profile events and editorials, capturing the attention of the fashion world. In 2007, Kim was commissioned by Vogue magazine to do a special edition feature named "Fashion meets Art". In 2008, Kim was also asked to collaborate with Hong Kong luxury brand Joyce to celebrate the first anniversary of their operation in mainland China. Later that year, Kim was also invited to contribute to London fashion publication Wound, for which he produced a series of works inspired by the designs of Alexander McQueen, Fendi, Dolce&Gabbana and Peter Pilotto.

 

 

Marcel Heijnen
November 2011

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We have been conditioned into thinking that everything should last forever, while in reality all there is, is continuous change. With impermanence as a central theme in Marcel's work, his current 'Residue' series explores Asia beyond Singapore's borders. The new works in this series have been generated in Indonesia and China. where rapid urban expansion and continuous change are merely facts of life. Does this change come with an enormous loss of sense of place and belonging or does its visibility provide the awareness that nothing stays the same?

The Residue series is Marcel's attempt to uncover modern city life and the beauty of its constancy, or the lack of it. While many believe that the camera is a realistic and an objective art form, Marcel challenges the notion that argues that it does in face "lie" by mimicking the human eye and therefore capturing stills of our own illusions. Hence, by creating images that are distinctly subjective, his works come through as highly emotive.

Derived from the vicinities of urban sprawl, Marcel's method is still pure. He mixes old weathering walls with the new buildings sprouting up, without using post production or double exposure but by simply placing clear class panel in front of walls. By capturing what is right there and then, he reveals impeccable reflections of one reality into another, where degeneration and renewal are in a perpetual dance.

 

 

Mydeadpony
October 2011

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Raphaël Vicenzi, better known as Mydeadpony, is a self-taught illustration artist living in Brussels whose artworks and watercolour techniques are influenced by fashion, street art and graffiti. Combining traditional hand-drawing with new digital techniques, he creates immensely detailed images that are both meticulous and ethereal. His works have been published in Illustration Now 3, The Beautiful, The New Age of Feminine Drawing and many other publications. Represented by top commercial agency, Colagene, Raphael is at the forefront of the illustration movement.

 

Mydeadpony's artworks oppose and marry graffiti and fashion, hard and soft, delicate femininity and raw power, frivolity and meaning. Often critiques on the codes of fashion illustration, Mydeadpony gives them new and more meaningful interpretations. These concepts emerge when reflecting on personal experience or literature.

 

 

 

Burton Machen
September 2011

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A portrait is an artistic representation of a person. Through history the nature of a portrait has changed from a direct depiction to a more abstracted representation. The artist's expression of the subject is the predominant and key feature of a portrait, yet with Urban Evolution™ PORTRAITS PROJECT Burton has challenged this notion. Typically an artist presents a portrait of a person as he or she sees him, but with ?Portraits Project' Burton is allowing the world to tell him how they see that person.

Urban Evolution™ PORTRAITS PROJECT is Burton's own personal brand of street art where he posts a portrait around cities like New York, Paris, New Orleans, London, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles, after which he then photographs the evolution of the portraits on the streets by contributions from passer-bys, street artists and the weather. With this co-creation, the portrait is an honest and true reflection of the publics' sentiment, and as Burton sees it, a conversation. Burton observes this on-going “dialogue” until he feels that the “exchange” has reached a state of accomplished maturity before deciding that the image is complete.

The finished works are reactive and spontaneous bodies of art that are dynamically vibrant and honest depictions of the subjects created by a collective effort and its unpredictable outcomes.

 

 

Nicolas Evariste
August 2011

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Part of an ongoing series of works, Dark Zoo started off as an attempt to photograph animal portraits that concentrated on, and conveyed the animal affection whilst discounting the reconstituted and precast environment found in most zoos.

Playing on contrasts and framing to produce a graphically minimalistic series, most of the adjustments were done during the shooting. The objective was to catch the darkest background available to isolate the animals' expressions and emotions. Many photos were discarded in the process of trying to omit the backgrounds with nominal post editing.

Nicolas shot all the images in three zoos in France, without access to the dens, shooting animals as an ordinary visitor. The series may have started in the zoo, but Nicolas hopes to extend this body of work to photographing animals in their natural environments as well.

 

Stefen Chow
July 2011

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The world takes turns to develop. This art series explores the theme of China’s ride up after a wavelength of development, to understand a perhaps imperial rebirth. China’s preserved former imperial glory can be juxtaposed against its apparent phenomenal rise on the global economic and political stage.

The artwork seeks to link 5,000 years of Chinese history with the present spotlight on progress. Using a combination of photographic techniques and straight photography, the works throw into question the focus on modern Chinese acceleration and realign it with an understanding of the previous baseline.

The Forbidden City was home for 24 emperors over a span of 5 centuries, a time span that made our present digital age a icker in time. Today, millions of tourists visit the site each year, armed with small digital cameras and a €5 admission ticket. The imperial grounds now perpetually host a spectrum of visitors from all over the world, accompanied by guides bearing multi-colored triangular ags.

Tourists have become the new invaders, walking into temples that were held sacred for dynasties, climbing up mountain trails, which were built specially for emperors; even staring into open tombs of emperors who had spent their entire legacy securing the fate of their afterlife. The work hopes to bring up a different insight of what is to be seen, to judge not just China but the rest of the world by its entire history, and to appreciate the place with its sum total.

 

Inga Beckmann
June 2011

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Following an invitation of the KITC (Korean International Travel Company, the operating arm of the North Korean Ministry of Tourism), Inga travelled extensively throughout the country in mid September 2008. The special circumstances of her journey and the support from the government institution, KITC, allowed her to capture this unknown state from an angle not portrayed before. The travel route covered the cities of Pyongyang, Kaesong, Nampo, Wonsan and connecting them with their ancient historical monuments, places of cultural interest and untouched nature – all unknown to the West. Her aim was to observe rather than trying to observe and judge at the same time, allowing her to reflect the country’s very own and special composition of colours, space & dimensions in a neutral way.

FEATURED PRINT

Chinese Portrait Series No.26

Feng Zhengjie