Simon Rose

Born in UK 1968

Lives and works in Greece.

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Artists Statement

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From studying Art and History of Art at college I have developed an eye for beauty in all its guises. From the obvious to the more subtle forms.

We are confronted with beauty everyday and all around us. Beauty can be found in Nature, human form, clothing, architecture, expression, performance, music and art to name but a few. Some shapes and designs are more obvious and familiar, and even on display for consumption through advertising in its myriad of forms.

I am concerned with the less apparent shapes and contours that may escape the casual observers gaze. The simple yet profound, unadulterated beauty found on closer inspection . The play of light, stillness and movement, colour and contour found in Nature and within a studio environment.

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The camera has traditionally been used to capture a moment in time, an object, person, scenery and represent it accurately for posterity.

I choose to use the camera as a tool to create an image, either in studio, utilising various materials and forming sculptures, or within Nature. With the use of Intentional camera movement or soft focus, I form images without a point of reference. Thus the viewer is free to roam with the minds eye and form a fresh relationship with what they perceive.

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Todays world seems to be one of ever evolving disconnection from Nature and each other and our inner selves.

A plethora of technology, full of various forms of media is vying for our attention and time, in a fast paced hectic society.

In the work I present, I invite a reconnection to ourselves. To view art as a somatic experience that allows a slower more careful observation of what is present, to reveal a fuller picture, through both emotional and cognitive exploration.

I wish to relate this within a body of work that explores the horizon between photography and painting and blends the boundaries.

Exploring how we relate to colour and texture . What emotional response is revealed through interacting with an artwork?

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“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Henry David Thoreau. 

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My artworks explore the idea of how through humanities history and our lives conditioning, we assume through automated responses and have predetermined views.

In perceiving an object through our sense of sight, we create a uniform understanding, a common language using a naming system, that then informs our emotions and feelings.

For example, an object such as a chair is named as such in a myriad of languages and cultures, we all come to the same conclusion regarding what we are viewing.

 

What then, if what is presented is not clear, abstract in form, undetermined? 

We are thus unable to ascertain an instantaneous response or appropriately name what we may be looking at.

 

Here we are unrestricted, independent and free to form a fresh relationship with what lies before us.

Without relying on the habitual, we can explore new ways, and develop a contact from a place of inner exploration, going beyond the routine automated response.

 

We find ourselves liberated, to explore how we may feel towards an art piece, what new information is present?

Instead of the brain directly registering what we are looking at, we may ask how does one relate to what is seen?

Looking closer, deeper, what and how do we see and perceive? Using eyes, body sensations and feelings, a more complete picture is revealed. 

From here the viewer is free to develop a relationship with the piece and explore how they may feel, what emotions may arise, as well as what they may see. To see with fresh eyes, free from labelling and to explore the feelings that are generated by our perceptions, and even more so by what lies within and bringing that to the surface. From here may we touch and taste our inner world, that is a reflection of what lies before us. To fully experience that which is within and without, with a sense of wonder and fascination. I thus invite the viewer to....

Pause......Breathe..... View........Feel.....

To embark on a contemplative process where the destination opens into the unknown...

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Colour Field Artists such as Mark Rothko and Light Artist  James Turrell have inspired me. Their use of colours, light and layers have always stirred something deep within me, I so enjoy viewing these works and entering into a relationship with them. I find it an emotionally rich experience to spend time in their presence.

I have drawn inspiration from these artists, and experiment painting with light, using long exposure shots, intentional camera movement in Nature and in studio exploration, that pays homage to their style.

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In the images I present, which have been inspired by Movement,Texture, Stillness and Light, I intend to imbue a flavour of this process where Life’s beauty and arts relationship with it are explored. I wish to convey a sense of marvel at Natures limitless forms of beauty, that are forever manifested. When we simply take the time, and allow a space in which to observe and witness, the kaleidoscope of light and colour, that is Life’s play, eternally resplendent. 

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