Arthur Meehan: The Wine Box Series

About

In his new series, Meehan photographs a range of flowers, including poppies, lilies, roses, and tulips reflecting his continued fascination for 'beautiful organic shapes'. Flowers were an obvious choice of subject for the artist following his 2008 exhibition of nudes, A Personal View, as their fluid sculptural forms 'echo the shape, curves, and sensual nature of the female nude,' which remains a constant source of inspiration in Meehan's work.

The title of the show, 'The Wine Box series' is inspired by Meehan's innovative method of photographing the flowers in a wine box. By playing with the lighting, and the colour and texture of the walls, he creates a unique setting for each of his subjects. Meehan uses only natural light: by removing or adding the panels of the box he is able to manipulate the light and shadowing around the subject to create subtle variations in tone and mood. Similarly, by painting the walls of the wine box with different colours and textures, Meehan alters the tonal quality of light in a photograph, from using variations of blue to create a cool, harsh light, to deep reds for a softer, warmer tonal quality.