I’m excited to announce that I’ll be exhibiting my landscape photographs in July/August. There are full details on the exhibition page.
The work will be shown alongside the sculptures and 3D artworks of my friend Sue Riley. We’re calling the show L’Esprit Insolite, which you could roughly translate as ‘exceptional spirit’ (although ‘unusual’ or ‘rare’ are other possible interpretations).
Sue’s work includes beautiful bronze statues of dancers (I’m lucky enough to own one of them) as well as 3D mixed media paintings and chandeliers that are straight out of a fairy tale (or perhaps one of your better dreams).
I’ll be showing landscape photographs – 120cm-wide prints on fabric, as currently available in the shop.
The show is being held at the Casino in the nearby town of Bagnoles de l’Orne, nestled at the edge of a forest in the Orne département of Normandy. It’s famous for its thermal treatments but for me it has the atmosphere of an Edwardian spa town. We like to take the dog for walks in the woodland and around the lake, which is overlooked by the Casino. Bagnoles also has the best chocolaterie in the region – which is reason enough to go there.
By Sue Riley, mixed media
It’s exciting to be showing again. Many years ago I had images in group shows of one sort or another. But this is the first chance I’ve had to exhibit my landscape work.
While most of my landscape photographs revolve around specific themes these days, for this first show I decided not to go with a particular project but to simply present a selection that I thought would complement Sue’s work.
Having said that, I’ve found that several of the images do seem to have a common element. There is something of a monumental aspect.
Take the image below. This is of a poplar wood alongside a voie verte (greenway) that we often walk and cycle. I’ve photographed it many times, and on every occasion I’m struck by how the trees resemble man-made monuments, such as the rows of standing stones at Carnac, or perhaps the Terracotta Army.
Some people who have viewed this image think the trees seem threatening or bewitched. I certainly feel they are mysterious in some sense. If you come to the show, you can decide for yourself!
What I can see on my phone looks good, I do like the trees Steve, very enchanting, good luck and enjoy. X