Exhibition of photographs "Urban Still Lives" by Christopher Phillips at CYPHER HOUSE 10 -11 October and 17 -18 October 2009 |
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See further photographs and a portfolio by Christopher Phillips at www.christopherphillips.co.uk | |
Urban Still Life # 17 Click on image to enlarge |
Urban Still Lives The subjects that attract me most are unremarkable urban street scenes. There is a danger in aesthetisizing these fragments of the building process – but my work is not about social commentary nor am I interested in glamourising detritus. I prefer to invoke the presence of human activity rather than to portray these cyclical tasks directly. The images I take are often quite flat but retain a strong geometric design. This produces an abstract structure which is key to these pictures. I capture the image full frame and do not resort to digital manipulation to enhance the image. I believe for photography to succeed the photographer has to be fully engaged, in real time, in observing and choosing the “decisive moment”. This moment for me reveals both the unexpected and the formal. The image should stand up on its own strength. I am against the tedium of the topological series. Christopher Phillips 2009 All photographs are in an edition of 30. They are printed with pigmented inks on fibre based archival paper. |
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