WAVELENGTHS
Photo Co Op Folkestone
21 May - 04 June 2021.
Supported by Arts Council England and South East Creatives.
"Wavelengths” is a solo exhibition by Melanie King exploring the visual representation of natural phenomena; through analogue infrared photography in the series Wavelengths and long-exposures of night skies in the photographs. King works around the relationship between astronomy, photography and materiality, in particular the innate connection between the photograph as object and the Earth itself.
Within the “Wavelengths” infrared series, Melanie explored the landscapes of Kilpisjärvi (Finland) and Margate (UK). Infrared film represents life forms such as plants and trees as a glowing magenta, so Melanie’s camera was pointed at lively seaweeds and lichens set against cold and “inert” rocks and the chalk seabed of Eastern Kent. Historically, Infrared photography has had many uses. It has been used for military and ecological observation and is still commonly used within the field of astronomy to view distant nebulae and galaxies.
Within the “Ancient Light” series, Melanie created long exposures of the night sky during residencies at Grizedale Forest (UK), Joya AIR (Spain) and the UCLO Observatory in London. She is interested in capturing light that has travelled for thousands, if not millions, of years before reaching photosensitive film. In some cases, light has been travelling from the stars for longer than the existence of conscious life on Earth.
Within both series, Melanie aims to demonstrate the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world. Infrared photography aims allows us to view phenomena in a way that we would not usually see with the naked eye. Similarly, long exposures of the stars and telescopes allow us to see streaks of light in the sky, as the Earth turns on its’ axis.
This exhibition has been funded by Arts Council England and South East Creatives.
Exhibition is open from 21st until the 4th June
Open 10 - 2 pm (ring the bell for entry)
Special opening times
Friday 28th May 5 - 9 pm
Saturday 29th May 10 - 5.30 pm with the below events happening:
Artist talk 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm, 2.30pm Booking required please contact studio@photocoopfolkestone.com indicating which time slot you would like to book
Live performance at 4pm
To arrange a personal meeting outside the above timings please contact melanie@super-collider.com
Print prices are available upon request
