Geoff CHAPLIN Art
 



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" " Hokkaido barns
" " Venice
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" " Moon Star
What are Gum Prints?

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Biography





Geoff Chaplin is a British born artist living and working in Hokkaido, Japan. His themes relate to human presence and to non-permanence but continuity: evolution. Subject matter includes decaying buildings and materials particularly rusting steel panels ("Moon Star" series) and buildings in Hokkaido and Venice. His medium is prints from photographic material - colour photographs, hand produced silver gelatin prints and particularly gum prints. The last especially suit much of the subject matter - each gum print itself being unique and evolving through the lengthy production process

Discontented with the trend towards digital imaging and infinitely repeatable 'perfection' he began seeking an alternative printing process - something which had a character and life of its own, and something which preferably was not repeatable. "Gum printing" turned out to be the process he was seeking. Dating from the very early days of photography - discovered in the 1830s - it became popular around 1890-1920 among the pictorialists and photo-secessionists for the painterly nature of the images.



My Life





On a fine winter's afternoon I held my pinhole camera tightly to my chest and photographed the sun. I slowly turned from left to right and as I breathed in and out the sun's image traced a path across the film falling and rising with my chest.

My line is short with its ups and downs. The sun's line is already 10,000 times 10,000 times longer than mine, and after mine is ended the sun's will continue for another 10,000 times 10,000 times as long.

We live on a dangerous planet in a dangerous universe. Our existence is perhaps only a brief accident in evolution. I enormously appreciate the fact that I am conscious of my own existence, aware of this universe, and recognize my complete insignificance, and the insignificance of our planet, in the vastness of time and space



Self Portrait and Autiobiography





The shutter opens. After a while I enter the scene. I am surrounded by the things of my life - books, cameras, paint, wine, pottery, girls knickers - and I busy myself for a while, then I leave. The shutter closes.








 
Text and images Copyright Geoff Chaplin