Current

Rik Pinkcombe
14 April - 20 May 2007

Rik Pinkcombe is a London based photographer who will be exhibiting at ArtSway in April of 2007. Pinkcombe has been commissioned by ArtSway and Autograph ABP to research and produce a new body of work along the US/ Mexican border, which will compliment his existing photographic series of the US/ Canadian border. In 2005 Pinkcombe was awarded a Light Works residency in Syracuse, New York sponsored by Autograph ABP, with an exhibition in Syracuse in late 2006 entitled ‘Perception and Deception’.

It was during his residency that Pinkcombe became interested in the nearby border between the United States and Canada. The resulting series of photographs – all deliberately left untitled – deal with cultural, racial and nationalistic issues and how they can affect and mould a border area that is effectively a man-made dividing line through one homogenous geographical place. At first glance Pinkcombe’s images appear to be highly crafted models or stage-sets. However, all is not what it seems. By juxtaposing blurred areas against those that are of pin-sharp clarity (a result of manipulating the depth of field within his camera, and further digital manipulation in the editing stage) Pinkcombe engenders a sense of unease in the viewer, throwing them off guard and making them work harder to understand what it is they are actually looking at. Duality therefore plays a key role in Pinkcombe’s work, shaped by his mixed-race heritage. In his photographs Pinkcombe has channeled what he and others consider as the duality of his genetic background into how we perceive, order and inhabit a place, such as a border. This sense of duality directly influences how Pinkcombe goes about recording and examining a specific place; yet, as he hints at in the title of his exhibition in Syracuse, reality as we know it can be manipulated and massaged by others to deceive the viewer, to reveal unforeseen truths, or conversely to mask deeply held convictions.

Rik Pinkcombe received a degree in Design Photography at Lancaster University, during which time he garnered two national awards from the Association of Photographers. He was awarded again from the same body during his early career as a commercial photographer. It was during this time that Pinkcombe battled for almost a year against leukaemia and decided to dedicate himself to producing work of a more personal nature. Pinkcombe has been supported for a number of years by Autograph ABP, and recently completed a Light Work residency in Syracuse, New York in the United States. He also exhibited work made during his residency at the Robert B Menschel Media Centre in Syracuse, and is currently exhibiting a series of his photographs at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery in Greenwich, London. Rik Pinkcombe lives and works in London.

Gallery Talk: Saturday 14 April, 3pm
Rik Pinkcombe will be in conversation with David A. Bailey, Senior Curator, Autograph ABP and Peter Bonnell, Exhibitions Officer, ArtSway, at the opening of this exhibition. Free, Booking Essential.

Gallery Lecture: Thursday 17 May, 7pm - 9pm
Migration and Contemporary Art Practice
Dr Stephen Morton, University of Southampton, will discuss Rik Pinkombe’s exhibition BorderLine, discussing migration, critical theory and a selection of artists who have explored the American borders in their work. Free, Booking Essential

To book a place please call ArtSway on 10590 682260