Fathom: soundings from artists in residence

About

Since June 2012, artists David Birkin, Walter Hugo and Tess Hurrell have been developing new bodies of work at Four Corners, using its unique film and photographic production facilities, alongside dedicated staff support and space. The pilot residency programme, supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, meets an identified need for artists working in film and photography, who have few opportunities for practice-based experimentation. David Birkin's ‘Reconstruction' is an oblique study of the process of shedding and constructing identity, seen from the perspective of an actor taking on the role of a soldier, and a soldier discussing his return to civilian life. Walter Hugo's ‘Iconostatus' consists of 18 hand tinted and gold leafed tintypes made using a room size camera, complete with 19th century brass lens. East London street youths were photographed using this antiquarian production process, with the long exposures capturing them in entirely new ways. Tess Hurrell presents ‘Still rushes', a film installation made from photographs which explores the language of analogue photography and its digital transformation. Images from the canals and waterways of Hackney are used as both subject and vehicle to explore the movement and flow of time. Over 200 darkroom prints were re-photographed onto 16mm film stock to create the work. Projects were selected by an external panel of photographer Stephen Gill, artist Gayle Chong Kwan, and Project Director of House of Illustration, Gill Henderson. An associated Symposium at London Metropolitan Univeristy on 21st November will explore production-led residencies and curatorial approaches, including presentations from the artists in residence.