A second visit today, 9th January 2025.

First up, the large printed work in the main corridor area with localise incandescent lighting and the chromatically limited 'strip' lighting. The reflections are an issue that we may have learned to ignore.

Echo Park 2023
Inkjet print
198.8 x 235.8 cm
78 1/4 x 92 13/16 in

So, to reiterate, my interest was in the use of large scale photographs and the technical considerations that may or may not be worth taking into account. I had been inspired by the photoworks of Andreas Gursky and so have been on the lookout for the attitude of other artists to the 'medium'. I am also acutely aware of the observational efforts of more traditional artists using paint as their medium.

(I have one more visit [15th] to the National Gallery Van Gogh exhibition booked for Tuesday 14th January.)

I was drawn to 'interrogate' some of these images close up, to see the complete picture, as it were. The idea of re-invented scenes as mentioned in the short film that accompanies this exhibition is timely at this moment in the development of social, or should that be un-social media! History story telling or re-telling needs pre-knowledge of that history to some extent. For me though, the interest may be equally in the process of observation and seeing... There is a potential depth of detail that photography can capture above and beyond storylines depicted.

(detail, Staircase & two rooms 2014)

Staircase & two rooms 2014
Lightjet prints
Three parts, each:
248.4 x 184.9 cm
97 13/16 x 72 13/16 in

The far room...

I spent many hours in the upper and main galleries at The Whitechapel Gallery back in the late 70's and early 80's so I do feel comfortable in this environment. I can also remember early iterations of polished concrete floors like this one!

The Lightboxes

The Flooded Grave 1998-2000
Transparency in lightbox
248 x 301 cm
97 5/8 x 118 1/2 in

Fieldwork. Excavation of the floor of a dwelling in a former Sto:lo nation village, Greenwood Island, Hope, B.C., August, 2003 Transparency in lightbox
238.5 x 302.5 cm
93 7/8 x 119 1/8 in

The Drain 1989
Transparency in lightbox
250 x 310 cm
98 7/16 x 122 1/16 in

The Thinker 1986
Transparency in lightbox
230.5 x 248 cm
90 3/4 x 97 5/8 in

As noted on my previous visit the light source in the lightboxes is an incomplete spectrum so the colours visible are reduced to, I guess, about 30% of the full range. This must give a general characteristic to the appearance of the images even if one might not be able to 'see' the limited range.

The 'gamut' of photograhic transparencies is significantly limited so the combined effect will be substantial!

The lightboxes are quite 'deep' and so the transition to printed images will have reduced storage and handling issues.

The 'joins' between the printed sections are less intrusive than the 'joins' that are needed in the lightboxes.