After Schwitters

The exhibition 'After Schwitters' was the culmination of a major research project into the life and work of the German artist Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948). Though a small project was undertaken in 2005 at the Cylinders site this became, after a hiatus of a four years, the pilot project for the larger research/photographic project that followed. In 2011 I was awarded a sabbatical and this allowed me the space to undertake research into Schwitters. I concluded my intention was not to document the journey Schwitters took but rather to use the idea of his journey as a catalyst to visit each relevant location in order to capture the echoes of his passing: the 'Schwitteresque'. Locations visited included revisiting Cylinders plus Isle of Man (where Schwitters was interned prior to moving to Cumbria), Norway and Hanover (both homes he was forced to leave as the Nazi party grew in power). In effect I retraced his journey in reverse; my connection with Schwitters having begun at the point his journey ended. In each location I explored elements that connected to Schwitters’ art works in some manner but also developed my interest in expanding the boundaries of my work through the use of differential focus and close-up imagery that allowed me to explore the potential of photographing an idea as opposed to a specific location; thereby developing my idea that photographic images, once you move into the realm of metaphor and allegory, have the potential to take on new meanings beyond the object depicted. The exhibition at the Hatton Gallery comprised 150 images mounted over four walls (each wall being one geographical location) thereby allowing stylistic elements from the four bodies of work to interact and for the viewer to discern the threads that ran through the work.

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