'Confluence'
The format for 'Confluence' grew out of my previous project, 'Searching for your Shadow'. The exhibition promoting this project included two images which worked very well side by side (see right). It made me consider images working as pairs as opposed to individual works. I had been intending to excavate my archive of images from the Creuse region (central France). The diptych format gave me a framework to work with. My wardrobe door planner (see right) was fully functioning over a couple of years, experimenting with structure and layout. It was great having it always there, enabling adjustments whenever they arose. It was good to have time to develop this project. There was no rush (until the delays in the latter stages!) 'Confluence' is about a flowing together, or a merging and will be shown as a series of 34 diptychs. It is sourced from an archive of photographs made over the past 16 years in the Creuse region of central France. The theme of 'Confluence' emerged as there is a geographical confluence of the rivers Creuse and Petite Creuse at Fresselines made famous by Claude Monet's paintings in the region in the late 1880s. The notion of confluence led me to experiment with using a sequential diptych format to create a cumulative sense of place. On a more personal level, I have never felt that I am part of just one place. My family draws its roots from Ireland, Poland and France. I felt the notion of confluence to be a very personal concept as well as something exterior and material, as evidenced in this book. Alongside a strong sense of my Irish and Polish heritage, my French mother, and our holidays in France, left me with an abiding love of the nation and its culture. I ran a crowdfunding campaign to try to cover printing costs, which, sadly, was not successful. Time for Plan B! Plan B was to use my personal savings to make the project a reality. I had great assistance from Sam Giles in the design of the cover and end-pages. The book was printed by Ex Why Zed. The cover is cloth bound with metallic blue foiling, the artwork representing the confluence at Fresselines, The book is 21 cm square. It contains 34 diptychs, a dedication and a preface, explaining the thinking behind and development of the project. It is self-published in September 2023 and looks great! (see right). And below you can see a low-res slideshow version of the book on my YouTube channel |
'Confluence' - the Launch Exhibition Thanks to all at The Mount Without, Bristol, UK, for a successful launch exhibition for three weeks in early October. Thanks also to the 380+ people who visited, and also those who bought books and prints. 'Confluence' is a self-funded and self-published photobook. It is a limited edition of 150 with over 40 now sold. |
Press
Click the button (right) to see Bristol 247 article on 'Confluence' from late September 2023. [opens in new page] |