Thanks to Rachel for details of this upcoming exhibition at Dimbola Museum and Galleries. Ed
This month saw the launch of an exciting new exhibition, Portrait of an Island by Island-based photographic collaborators Steve Blamire and Julian Winslow at Dimbola Museum and Galleries.
As part of the 2015 Julia Margaret Cameron bicentenary celebrations Steve and Julian have produced a new body of work drawing on Julia’s pioneering style to form a contemporary representation of the Island community in 21st century.
Contemporary cultural talent
The exhibition features a whole host of Island characters – from artists and architects, to artisans and musicians – showcasing the true depth of contemporary cultural talent living and working on the Isle of Wight.
Steve Blamire says,
“The opportunity to produce a new body of work for Dimbola during Julia’s bicentenary year was a truly exciting prospect. The Island is home to such a deep and rich collection of individuals and this is a subject we have wanted to explore for some time.
“The exhibition is the first stage of the Portrait of an Island project, we will be continuing to shoot a whole range of individuals during the remainder of 2015 ahead of producing a book towards the end of the year.”
Great aesthetic beauty
Dimbola’s Exhibitions & Collections Coordinator Dr Rachel Flynn says,
“The creative photographic portraits of Julian Winslow and Steve Blamire have a great aesthetic beauty, offering real visual pleasure through their mastery of their medium and use of formal elements such as colour, texture and composition.
“However, their highly inventive staging, use of props and unexpected compositions and juxtapositions set them apart from many other photographic portraitists.
“Their creativity reveals sometimes witty, sometimes surprising insights into the characters and accomplishments of their sitters. This combination of technical expertise and intellectually stimulating, creative content place their artistic practice in the best tradition of portrait photography as a fine art.”
Featured in the exhibition
The Island characters featured in the exhibition include: chef Robert Thompson, painter David Firmstone, illustrator Zoe Sadler, farmer Ben Brown, ceramicist Matthew Chambers, architectural designer Lincoln Miles, musician and producer Paul Butler, Ventnor Exchange artistic director Jack Whitewood, writer Hannah George, artist Joanne Hummel-Newell and Sally and Simon Perry from OnTheWight.
Image: © Julian Winslow and Steve Blamire
