The Paper Light Process – Exhibition by Megan Ringrose A pop-up exhibition 25th-27th July 2019

The upper gallery was almost overwhelmed by the four large prints. Viewed up close the graduations of tone, a complexity, emphasised the long production times these ‘alternative processed’ images took to create. The lower level showed a grid of 12 smaller prints, benefiting from the great light streaming into the Little Gallery in London’s St. James. The simplicity of keeping the images strictly within the Red, Green and Blue spectrum emphasized the subtle graduations of colour, of the textural qualities of the paper where roughened by folding and creasing.

The larger pieces clearly show the textural undulations from the application of the photosensitive chemicals; similar to a painter’s brush marks, “painting with light” as Tony Hancock once mimicked a photographer, which of course is exactly the process here.

The shapes and forms have a 1930’s Russian abstraction ambience to them; but these are photograms rather than paintings. As Megan writes “This collection of experimental work comes from research and enquiry into the very essence of Photography. Fascinated by the pure elements of photography, #paperlightprocess is inspired by Vilem Flusser’s thoughts on working without a camera/apparatus to find a new freedom within photography.” Despite this wish to be distant from digital photography the restriction to the red, green and blue, the additive primary colours, links to the RGB screens in use every day.

The prints are mounted on aluminium then framed. As the larger prints impressed, especially up-close, the grid display showed, at this scale, the work is perhaps best viewed as a set. And a fantastic set to boot.