Oliver Naylor

Loughborough University : BA (hons) Fine Art

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coolingreflec2.jpg
'untitled'
photographic print, 20"x16"

 

insidepano.jpg
'untitled'
b/w inkjet digital print, 2300x450mm (approx.)

 

 

insidewillington.jpg
'untitled'
b/w inkjet digital print, 1100x1500mm
(approx.)

 

pipes.jpg
'untitled'
photographic print, 20"x16"

 

pitpano.jpg
'untitled'
colour inkjet digital print, 2322x366mm

 

 

quarrybw.jpg
'untitled'
b/w inkjet digital print, 6ftx4ft (approx.)

 

quarrycolour.jpg
'untitled'
colour inkjet digital print, 6ftx4ft (approx.)

 

quarrypano.jpg
'untitled'
colour inkjet digital print, 2322x366mm

 

 

quarryreversal4.jpg
'untitled'
photographic print, 20"x16"

 

rocket.jpg
'rocket'
colour inkjet digital print, 6ftx4ft (approx.)

 

 

Artist Statement:
For the past three years I have worked with a fellow student, Adam Whittaker. Our work focuses on industrial landscapes through the medium of photography. I have attached images and a statement about the work. At the moment we are exhibiting our degree show work in a U.K. graduate’s exhibition at the Stroud House Gallery in Gloucester which began on 23rd
August and finishes early October. I hope the work is of some interest and I look forward to hearing from you.



Oliver Naylor and Adam Whittaker

Industrial structures are commonly seen as “eyesores” that damage the environment. Structures, like power stations, are developed solely for efficient energy production but our work reveals the human enjoyment these sites can also possess. Through the medium of photography and film we have attempted to portray the mix of emotions that industrial structures can create; in one way they are extremely attractive and complex whilst at the same time appear subtly ambiguous and ominous.

Sites like quarries and coal mines were developed solely for efficient energy production but our work reveals the human enjoyment that they can possess. They are wonderfully nonconformist, resisting the notion that an environment must be “tamed” to be beautiful. To focus these qualities we have created panoramic pieces which offer an image that is alien to the human eye and achieves a cinematic quality. The panoramic pieces are constructed from 36 colour medium format negatives, meticulously scanned in, stitched together and digitally manipulated to suit each landscape. The images benefit from the use of a wide-angle lens because the usual hard, rigid forms of industry are distorted. The conveyor belts in both colour panoramics are bowed which softens and abstracts the image. Factors like this and the colours captured by medium format negatives ask questions about
how true to life these landscapes are. In the large print of the rocket the image is granted a hyper realistic feel due to the bold yet inviting tonal range. The large-scale format (6x4ft) is also significant as it conveys the sense of drama and energy that these structures provoke when we experience them. To emphasise this confrontational atmosphere the red Land Rover featured in one of the panoramics and the Rocket image has been shrunk to maximise the scale of the surrounding structures.

We have also created a series of 35mm and medium format black and white photographs. These images achieve a high level of detail that conveys the structures’ aura. The photographs capture aspects of Britain’s industrial background, solid monumental structures that were built to last forever but in some cases are now part of desolate post-industrial wastelands. We appreciate the areas’ sense of possibility and the powerful visual potential they possess, even when this carries with it a sense of foreboding, danger and melancholy. These emotions are heightened by our unauthorised visits to these sites which play a relevant part in our work. Trespassing amplifies the atmosphere of these dystopian landscapes where it feels like we have been thrust into an area from the distant past. This is especially true of the images of the inside of a disused cooling tower. The scene is unfamiliar
yet strangely thrilling as it evokes scenes from science fiction films like ‘Stalker’, ‘Tetsuo’ and ‘2001:A Space Odyssey’. Like most of our photographs the image has traces of a still active human presence with the stairs, handrail and doorway. This makes it possible for viewers to associate themselves with the scene and therefore feel the full effects of the atmosphere of the image.

 

Oliver Naylor

BA (hons) Fine Art Loughborough University

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