Material Matters by Martin Newth, Programme Director of BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design, is a specially commissioned (by Gerald Moore Gallery) installation exploring the relationship and conversations between cameras and sculptures.
Sculptural works by three artists: Katie Cuddon, Matt Franks and Nick Pearson, have been selected and Newth has built cardboard cameras to photograph them. The size and shape of each camera is unique to the contemporary sculpture it is designed to photograph and corresponds specifically to the work's characteristics and dimensions.
The cameras have become sculptures themselves that often resemble architectural models or strange, anthropomorphic beings.
Using lo-fi analogue technology, the multi-lensed, cardboard cameras are used to make 1:1 scale photographic images. These photographs emphasise the materiality of the sculptures as well as the material nature of the photographic process which modern digital photography rarely conveys. By providing links to the historical roots of the medium, the viewer is asked to consider the nature of contemporary photography.
A dialogue is set up between all three elements of the exhibition: the photographic image, the camera and the sculpture, to explore the materiality of all three and to reverse the subservient role of the camera in the photographic process.
The exhibition will evolve over the period of the installation, as associated workshops encourage participants to make work in response and to contribute to the show.