Elements
of Curiosity
Eilish Culley
, Blackburne Place
1st-30th June 2010
Reviewed by
Hosted at the obscure and unlikely venue of Blackburne house, Eilish
Culley’s ‘Elements of Curiosity’ photography exhibition
is something of a hidden gem this month.
The modest collection of photographs occupies a single hall, which offers
a quiet place for reflection and contemplation; this is certainly required
when considering meaning in Culley’s display.
A loose and obvious connection running through the exhibition is decay
and decrepitude. The opening photograph – the beautiful butterfly
image displayed here – captures the fragility and beauty associated
with natural disintegration perfectly. The mood is neither celebratory
nor dismaying, and this is perhaps what Culley aims to convey through
her images of degradation.
The exhibit also displays multiple photographs united by theme, such
as a mini collection of beach images. The beach dominates the exhibition,
perhaps due to the sea’s turbulent and erosive nature, and highlights
most boldly the contrast between natural and man made forms. Particularly
effective, is a photograph that depicts a moored boat at a rocky cove.
The image is askew, giving the impression that the boat is being dragged
out to sea with the tide. Culley focuses on beach debris also, with a
close up of a three holed brick, now smoothed out of recognition and becoming
yet another anonymous pebble like form which make up the beach surface.
The theme is not always carried through consistently however. A three
piece combination, contrasting a jumbled heap of faded chillies and a
pile of liquorice allsorts, and centred by a vivid portrait of a flower
head, is particularly lost in the exhibition. The meaning is perhaps related
to the vibrancy of colour and the association with instinctual animal
attraction, but this is not entirely successful.
Other images in the exhibition relate loosely to the theme of aging (an
ancient yet pristine Harley Davidson is featured) but are not as concise
in their depiction or context.
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