A Commentary on 'Playtime - the Magical Landscapes of Play'
My Thing
I am a self-taught art photographer whose work has been inspired by photographers such as Nadav Kander and Sebastiao Salgado. Whilst at times my work draws comparison to street photography, some of the images are manipulated post-editing allowing for the completion of a moment of drama, or perfection of composition. Given the surreal and often painterly appearance of the work, many viewers assume the images to be paintings or computer generated, whereas they have
Compositionally, many of my images present the viewer with a piece of theatre - a space where a stage, actor and backdrop come together to create a moment of drama. However, given the surreal nature of the urban and architectural landscapes, whilst the eye is first drawn to the human activity at the centre of the image, the real subject of the image is often the backdrop itself.
About Playtime
Playtime has always held great meaning for me. In one of my many previous professional incarnations I used to be a 'play-worker' - working at play by laying on activities for children. As an adult/child, play continues to lie at the heart of how I construct my life, primarily through my creative passions. Given this it is unsurprising that I should have been drawn to the theme of play-time.
'Playtime- the magical landscapes of Play' is a portfolio that emerged from the years of documenting some of the surreal architectural landscapes that I regularly found myself in at the weekend with my wife and young son. In the need to also be present for my family during these days out I resorted to having to take "snapshots" on the move. Whilst the immediacy of these situations didn't offer me the opportunity to manipulate the scene, the post-editing did, allowing for my own playtime - a moment where I become completely absorbed in the world of dream, fantasy and the attempt to creatively concretise what I see in my mind's eye, with all the child-like joy I feel when that is achieved.
What defines this portfolio is a commonality of composition. Against the backdrop of a surreal landscape a moment of drama is played out on a stage or round - whether the circumference of a pool or pond, the circular wall of death, the raised platform of a fountain, or the arc of a fairground ride. This stage presents a magical space where the rules of mundane life are transgressed, and play-time emerges. This play-time is the stuff of dreams - creative, surreal and bizarre. Worlds filled with bubbles. Worlds where old men drive motorbikes up walls or race toy boats in the middle of ponds. Worlds where children walk on water, fly in buckets, or jump though walls of water.
I would like to believe that what holds us to these images is the surreal nature of the activity or landscape, engaging the curious child within us. In that instant where the curiosity of our own inner child is engaged the circle is completed, drawing the subject, artist and viewer together in a brief moment of Play-time.
Andrew Bird