New Exhibition At Galerie Paris-Beijing In Brussels Debuting "Lunar Caustic" Opens 20th September

I am very, very, very excited to announce that my new collaborative series, "Lunar Caustic" will debut later this year at the wonderful Galerie Paris-Beijing in September!!! Part of an exciting trio exhibition entitled "Beijing Silvermine" Thomas Sauvin, Lei Lei and I will have carte blanche in the Brussels space, presenting our re-workings of the archive the Silvermine. 

Here is an excerpt from the Press Release, "Hundreds of thousands of images – so many moments snapped by strangers are tirelessly salvaged by Thomas Sauvin, following a meeting in the Northern periphery of the capital city, with Xiao Ma, a recycler who collects negatives in order to retrieve the Silver Nitrate. Sauvin, a collector, curator and publisher who has resided in Beijing since 2003 gathers half a million anonymous negatives in 35 mm colour, dating from 1985 to 2005 and ultimately destined for destruction. 

Presented on the second floor, is the debut of Lunar Caustic, a conceptual collaborative reworking of the archive by British artist Melinda Gibson. Between art and chemistry, prints are burned with Hydrochloric Acid and coated with Silver Nitrate, isolating the true essence of the imagery, revealing the unstable, palpable, organic uncontrollable object. Their scientifically charged intervention gives the already digested images a new existence, poetically evolving the tale of destructive innovation and leading to ultimately rebirth. It is down to Gibson’s artistic interventions that it is as if these photographs of yesterday are propelled into today’s world." 

You can read more here: 

http://www.galerieparisbeijing.com/exhibitions/pr_pages/beijing_silvermine_2014.html

Foam "Spotlight - 5 Year Of Talent" Exhibited At Les Rencontres d'Arles & Felix&Foam Amsterdam

I was very pleased to see and surprised that my series, "The Photograph As Contemporary Art" is part of the wonderful Foam's Spotlight - 5 Years of Talent in a presentation exhibition during the opening week of Les Rencontres d'Arles! Being 1 of the selected 15 winners of the 2010 Talent Award, it was excellent to be part of this exciting display, as Foam describe.

"All the work that was included in the past five Talent Issues will be projected onto monumental, open books that are suspended from the ceiling of the exhibition space in Amsterdam and within the walls in Arles. The space also features a reading table where the publications will be made available to the public and includes exclusive interviews with the photographers from the various Talent Issues. With work from over 60 photographers, Spotlight - 5 Years of Talent displays the diversity of  contemporary photography."

See more here from Foam: http://www.foam.org/press/2014/spotlight

PiK Magazine London Launch 3rd July At The Photographers' Gallery From 18:30

This coming Thursday, 3rd July see's the London launch of the sixth issue of piK Magazine. A lovely magazine produced in a limited edition of 100 copies, by founder and editor Isabelle Evertse. This up and coming issue has many interesting photographers and bodies of work, of which my series/ publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" is presented. 

The London launch see's the magazine being presented at The Photographers' Gallery from 18:30 and further presented at Cosmos in Arles over the opening weekend of the Festival on the 9th July.

I will be present at both openings signing copies of the magazine, so come on down and celebrate with us all for a drink or  two!

You can see more about the magazine here and about the launch in London here: http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/pik-magazine-issue-6

Aperture Release - "The Photographer's Playbook" Edited by Jason Fulford & Gregory Halpern

Very, very, very excited to say that Aperture release their new title, "The Photographer's Playbook" edited by the wonderful Jason Fulford and Gregory Halpern, with my very own contribution, "Loose An Eye"!!!! I am situated very nicely between the great George Georgiou and Bruce Gilden with so many other amazing contributors that include great friends and colleagues.

Described as, "The Photographer’s Playbook features photography assignments, as well as ideas, stories, and anecdotes from many of the world’s most talented photographers and photography professionals. Whether you’re looking for exercises to improve your craft—alone or in a group—or you’re interested in learning more about the medium, this playful collection will inspire fresh ways of engaging with photographic process."

John Baldessari, Alec Soth, Henri Cartier-Bresson, John Gossage, Susan Lipper, Cristina de Middel, WassinkLundgren, Charlotte Cotton, Erik Kessels, Bruno Ceschel, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, the list goes on and on, its a fantastic new publication and I am very, very proud to be part of it!

Here is the link to the publication: http://aperture.org/shop/the-photographer-s-playbook-books

Lunar Caustic Exhibition Preparations In Full Swing

Very exciting times lie ahead, as we prepare for the debut opening of Lunar Caustic in September!!! Every day more exciting confirmations are finalised and the works are carefully transported from one location to another, condition reports conducted and framing starts to commence.

This project has evolved so much over the past two years it really encapsulates a period of time, not only mine, but that of many others that have shared in the development of the project. At every stage this series seems to organically grow into something more, new objects show themselves, worthy of exhibition and beautifully twisting shapes appear from nowhere to be seen by many. In the attempt to control and restrain, this project gives us the reminder, that you can't, and for that I am very thankful. 

More to come very shortly, exhibition dates and press...

Vienna PhotoBook Festival

Opening this weekend is the much anticipated Vienna PhotoBook Festival, organised by the wonderful Anzenberger Gallery and OstLicht. Galerie fur Fotografie, it is sure to be an eventful weekend. I am very pleased to say that my latest publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" will be there with my publishers the exceptional, b.frank books, which are selling there very last few copies of the, as they so put it, "officially sold out books."

It is so lovely to see that these coming and passed weeks are the PhotoBook lovers month, a month of events and festivals, ideas and panel discussions around this exciting, innovative and tactile medium, the book. Starting off with the PhotoBook Bristol event, running at the same time as the new Room&Book fair at the ICA, to this weekend in Vienna, if your'e a collector, book maker, publisher or photographer/artist this month is surely one to excite and entertain.

Here is the link to the Vienna PhotoBook Festival: http://www.viennaphotobookfestival.com/

b.frank books selling the last few copies of my latest book: http://bfrankbooks.org/product/miss-titus-becomes-a-regular-army-mac

Louis Vuitton Librairie Shares A Selection Of 6 Of Their Most Intriguing And Covetable Titles...

To celebrate the launch of the new London Book Fair, Room&Book at the ICA, the wonderful Purple Fashion Magazine asked a collection of the exhibitors for their "Most intriguing and covetable titles," one of which was the Louis Vuitton Librairie, who are representing both of my books this weekend at the fair.

I am very excited to say that LV selected my first publication, "The Photograph As Contemporary Art" as 1 of their 6 selection! I am very honoured to be in fabulous company as their other selects were Chris Ofili, John Stezaker, Sam Wagstaff, Jim Lambie and their very own Louis Vuitton Cashier D'Artiste. 

See more of the article here: http://purple.fr/boutique/stories/to-celebrate-room-book-louis-vuitton-librairie-shares-a-selection-of-6-of-their-most-intriguing-and-covetable-titles

And don't forget to see both of my publications this weekend at the ICA Room&Book, it closes tomorrow, Sunday 8th June at 6:00 pm, doors open at 11:00 am.

PhotoBook Orgy Performance on Thursday 5th June At The Photographers' Gallery from 18:30

Very excited to say that I will be doing a performance at The Photographers' Gallery, part of the wonderful Self Publish Be Happy event, The PhotoBook Orgy on Thursday 5th June from 18:30.

"Paradise often lies between the covers of photo books. The binary desire to have or to be is the key to revealing such a paradise to our own eyes". 

Bruno Ceschel, guest editor of the current edition of Aperture's PhotoBook Review, has selected a diverse group of contributors to explore the nuanced relationship between pleasure, photography and the photo book. Re-presenting the commissioned texts as a performance, the event takes its cue from the issue, organised as one would, a big party.

See more here: http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/photobook-orgy-2

Flash Forward Tenth - Top 100 Photographers

Very excited to release that I have been selected as 1 of the top 100 Photographers for the Tenth Anniversary Edition of the Magenta Flash Forward Publication! This is a special 4 book, slipcase edition that features a select few of the photographers to showcase alongside the chosen one hundred. I very pleased to announce that I am 1 of the featured and will be showcasing some of my most recent series, including 13213. The publication showcases some of the best talent within the UK, Canada and the United States.

The publication will be officially released in September, but you can read more here: http://www.magentafoundation.org/publications/flash-forward-tenth/

More to come later this year. Happy June!

Reclaimed Images Of China's Yesteryear - "Lunar Caustic" Officially Launched On Dazed & Confused

We are very, very, very excited to officially launch our new collaborative project, Lunar Caustic with Dazed and Confused, on Dazed Digital! This is the debuting of the series and shows the largest selection of the works we have made and that will be exhibited at Galerie Paris-Beijing in September. A huge thank you to all of the team at Dazed as well as dearest Kingston Trinder who wrote the piece, here is a little excerpt from the interview we did.

"Lunar Caustic: elements of the moon - Neglected negatives destined for ruin find new life in a new collaboration by Melinda Gibson and Thomas Sauvin.

Archival photographers Melinda Gibson and Thomas Sauvin salvaged thousands of neglected negatives bound for inescapable destruction for their latest collaboration, Lunar Caustic, a collection of quietly decaying images of China's yesteryear. Gibson, an award-winning British photographer based in London, began working with Sauvin, a French photography collector and editor residing in Beijing, following Sauvin's Beijing Silvermine Project, a vast archive of over half a million recovered negatives he amassed & edited between 2009 and 2014.

Lunar Caustic is less concerned with anthropological notions of salvaged memory or preservation, but rather, with the creation of new imagery through neglect, fate and decay by the chemical compounds used in their original formation. Gibson and Sauvin's recovered images organically transform themselves through time beneath rich clouds of discolouration, corrosion and recontextualisation.Lunar Caustic, a two-year endeavour, will be exhibited for the first time at Brussels’ Paris Beijing Gallery in September."

Read and see more of the interview from Dazed here:
http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/19979/1/lunar-caustic-elements-of-the-moon

13213 Collaboration

2014, is proving to be a super busy year and another very exciting collaboration is well on its way, due to be released later this year. I will reveal more very soon, but I can say that it will be a special publication and I am working on the project 13213 which is coming together in new and exciting ways.

Here are some sneaky images, straight off the press (in a matter of speaking!) that I have been working on over the last few days, all around the honest premise of the fire and flood back in February last year. Keep watching, as more will be posted very, very soon indeed. I am very excited about this one too!

Room&Book: ICA Art Book Fair

I am very excited to announce that both my publications, "The Photograph As Contemporary Art" and "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" will be at Room&Book, a three day Art Book Fair, held at the ICA in association with the wonderful Claire de Rouen Books in London! They will be presented with the Louis Vuitton Maison Librarie.

From the Press release, "Room&Book will be the first art book fair in London to focus exclusively on the role of the book dealer. There will be 18 dealers at Room&Book, and each will present a collection of iconic publications from the last 30 years, alongside their vision for more in-print titles that will become the ‘new rare’. 

We’re experiencing a golden age in publishing - from a cultural perspective, it’s as vital as ever and sitting comfortably within our digital age. – Lucy Moore, Director, Claire de Rouen Books 

Whilst celebrating long established iconic publications, the fair will also present works which are undoubtedly destined to form the next wave of coveted books. - Gregor Muir, Executive Director, ICA" 

The fair will run from Friday 6th June to Sunday 8th June, see more here: http://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/roombook-ica-art-book-fair