This event has ended
A hallucinogenic smear of unnaturally bright daisies; a blurred impression of a house reflected in a mercury-like material; waves crashing on an ornate balustrade against a perfect sunset, as if from a dream or simulation of luxury… The photographs of Dan Commons confronts the viewer with the fundamental strangeness of the manufactured reality in which we exist, while also asking us to consider the mediating role photography plays between this reality and our perception of it.
This edition of First Light Spotlight looked at the commonplace and how it continues to be a rich source of fascination for artists working with photography. Hosting this talk was First Light curator and photographer Mario Popham, joined by Dan and his tutor Phil Welding (Leeds Arts University) – a fellow observer of the uncanny in the everyday – and writer Jack Hook (Liverpool John Moores University), who read a new text responding to Dan’s work.
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Open Rooms, Open Eye Gallery’s digital events program, will be hosting a season of talks in partnership with Waterside as we approach the launch of the exhibition, First Light – New Northern Photo Graduates in the spring/summer 2021.
The exhibition, devised by Waterside’s Mario Popham, brings together works by 13 photographers who have graduated from the region’s educational institutions in 2020. Open Eye Gallery’s writer in residence, Laura Robertson will be producing a special First Light edition of Tilt (Open Eye Gallery’s in-house zine) featuring 13 commissioned pieces of new writing that responds to the selected photographic works.
This season of talks, chaired by Laura and Mario, will bring together the photographers, writers and educators who are central to this project. Together they will discuss the ideas and inspiration behind the images, the potential for collaboration across disciplines, the relationship between the image and the word and the role educators play in the early development of artistic practice.
Image: Dan Commons
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Open Rooms involves free live-streamed talks and workshops, plus ongoing public discussions on our Discord community. It takes place in rooms all across the world — artists’ rooms, chat rooms and in your living room.
Please note, this event will be hosted on Zoom, the link will be emailed to all attendees.
We also have a community of chat rooms and ongoing conversations on Discord, a free messaging app open to all. To join, follow this link and download Discord on desktop or mobile: https://discord.gg/wNKSQP2
Open:
10am – 5pm, Tue – Sun
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