Christopher Colville
The Dark Hours
Dark Hours Horizon 20, 6 5/16 x 12 2015. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Painterly Photography
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The term painterly in Art refers to a style that embraces, celebrates and elevates both the medium and the act of creation. It is an expressive approach, where process is liberally visible rather than restrained or rational.
How does this all translate to photography though? Could the photographic medium be accommodating enough to foster painterly qualities? When guided by an instinctive love of material and fascination with technique it is then that photography transcends into a state of evolution. Christopher Colville challenges both his chosen medium and the notions of traditional photography by refining the process of image making. The Dark Hours is a body of work made without a camera. It is a collective of speculative, or perhaps better described as imagined landscapes, all unique and one of-a-kind artefacts. He reflects on his natural surroundings and desert landscapes of his home in Phoenix, Arizona. The work production is tied to the cycles of the moon. By working outside at night two weeks of the month, when the moon is low in sky or dim enough not to expose his gelatine silver paper, he exposes photographic paper and ignites varying combinations of gunpowder directly onto its surface. |
With the use of metal, wood and physical structures he directs the blast. These objects shield parts of the paper while other portions are allowed to be exposed to light, heat and fire. The photographic paper is then tray-developed like any traditional gelatin silver print. The resulting image is a combination of exposed silver paper with burn marks and abrasion on its surface.
This abstract representation of landscape conveys a strong sense of space. It is that precise desert landscape that becomes the medium itself. The natural elements, the darkness of the universe and the sparse light of the stars. Process plays an integral role; however, its concept is more suggested than clearly stated. A representation in a state of flux, liberated from stagnated interpretation, one that invites the viewer to imagine. In an age of image plethora and digital advancement, it is surprisingly refreshing to be confronted with work that has the ability to slow time. To push the photographic medium and its symbolic limitations without compromising its quality. It is image making, both serendipitous and elemental. Created with spontaneity, generated from a single spark. A fine example of painterly photography! Marina Syrmakezi, Gold Circle Founder and Curator |
Dark Hours 48 10x16 2015. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Dark Hours Horizon 82, 2016. Four unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver prints. Approximately 6.25 x 20.5
Dark Hours Horizon 34, 4x5 2013. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Dark Hours Horizon 28, 21 5-16 x 29.5 2015Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Dark Hours Horizon 15, 2015 10x12.5 Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Untitled W.O.F 15-23 17.5x14 2015. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Dark Hours Horizon 4012.5x18.5 2015. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Inversion #1 19.5 x 15.5 2015. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver print.
Dark Hours Horizon 31 2015. Unique gunpowder generated gelatin silver prints.
All images © Christopher Colville
Bio
Christopher Colville is an artist working to push the boundaries of the photographic medium in both experimental and traditional forms. Born in 1974 in Tucson Arizona Christopher received his BFA in Anthropology and Photography from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and his MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico. After leaving New Mexico, he returned home to the Sonoran Desert and is currently living in Phoenix. Chris has spent his time in Phoenix exploring the desert where he has taught in multiple institutions including as a visiting Assistant Professor at Arizona State University as well as working as the photography editor for Prompt Press.
Christopher’s work has been included in both national and international publications and exhibitions. Recent awards include the Ernst Cabat Award through the Tucson Museum of Art, Critical Mass top 50, the Humble Art Foundations New Photography Grant, an Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Project Grant, a Public Art Commission from the Phoenix Commission on the Arts and an artist fellowship through the American Scandinavian Foundation. Christopher’s work has been reviewed in national and international publications including the L.A. Times, Boston Globe and GUP Magazine.
When not making work Christopher can be found spending time with his wonderful wife Melanie, while trying to keep up with their darling young sons Wyatt and Oliver.
christophercolville.com
Christopher’s work has been included in both national and international publications and exhibitions. Recent awards include the Ernst Cabat Award through the Tucson Museum of Art, Critical Mass top 50, the Humble Art Foundations New Photography Grant, an Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Project Grant, a Public Art Commission from the Phoenix Commission on the Arts and an artist fellowship through the American Scandinavian Foundation. Christopher’s work has been reviewed in national and international publications including the L.A. Times, Boston Globe and GUP Magazine.
When not making work Christopher can be found spending time with his wonderful wife Melanie, while trying to keep up with their darling young sons Wyatt and Oliver.
christophercolville.com