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Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Craig Yule

Balmedie and the surrounding area is located just north of Aberdeen, the area is comprised of a system of unique shifting sand dunes that stretch 14 miles. The dunes are a substantial area of grassland where the main vegetation is marram grass, supporting a large array of wildlife.The dunes are the fifth largest sand dune system in Great Britain and have been designated as a site of special scientific interest by the European Union. The area has been subject to controversy in recent years. In 2008 Donald Trump was granted permission to build a golf course on the land surrounding the beach. The site was constructed on bull- dozed sand dunes this has forced people from their homes and substantially damaged the natural habitat. Aberdeen Council is also in the process of building an offshore wind farm, the proposed turbines will also have a direct impact on the area.

As the area is subject to controversy my work will bring focus back to the natural landscape, looking at the diversity of the area, its shifting structures and patterns and showing the beauty of the area highlighting the importance of conservation

Craig Yule is from London and has lived in Scotland for 12 years. He enrolled at Edinburgh Napier after completing his HND in Photography at Carnegie College Dunfermline. Craig is keen to explore all areas of photography however his main areas of interest are advertising, fashion and landscape photography.

Check out Craig's work on his website, and his series Baile Mheadhain from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Jola Sopek

The definition of the word house suggests a place inhabited by people on a daily basis, in which routines are had and belongings are stored. Sometimes, a decision is made to move to a different place. Occasionally, a house is abandoned. What remains is stillness.

Ulica 3-go Maja (May 3rd Constitution Street) is an exploration of a part of a house occu- pied by my grandparents until mid-1990s. Their rooms have not been subsequently rented nor sold, and to this day remain largely untouched. In a separate part of the house lives a distant relative of ours but she does not have access to the vacant rooms. When visiting the place I immerse in a feeling of life lived on the verge of a deepening silence. However, the memories kept within the walls are not mine. There is a cold distance and a trace of someone else’s inapproachable past.

Jola Sopek was born in Poland and is currently based in Scotland. In her practice she explores the idea of photography as a tool to capture a visual stream of consciousness. Thanks to shooting extensively over the past 8 years mainly for personal purposes, she be- lieves that photography works similar to a jigsaw puzzle which needs to be pieced together in order to establish one’s relationship with reality.

Check out Jola's work on her website, and her series Ulica 3-go Maja / May 3rd Constitution Street from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Nic Rue

Where do you come from? The series Home, Home interrogates the concept of home

in a globalised world. The work is made up of photographs collected from people who immigrated to the UK from outside of the EU and who have been settled here for more than three years. They were asked to provide photographs of the home they left behind, photographs which have deep personal meaning. The work seeks to question what happens to our idea of home when we are displaced. How do memories of home change with time and distance? How to people maintain a connection with the home they left? What role does the idea of a distant home play in identity?

Nic Rue is an Edinburgh-based Australian photographer who has recently undertaken an artist residency as part of the Bothy Project and an internship at Stills, Scotland’s Centre of Photography. She is currently completing a student placement with Edinburgh Foodies and Festivals Magazines. Her work has been published in a variety of publications including the NME, Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday. As well as undertaking freelance work for several local makers, Creative Edinburgh, and Just Festival, Nic regularly collaborates with an independent record label. Her personal work is focussed in concept-based documentary.

Check out Nic's work on her website, and her series series Home, Home from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Jack Low

Through means of geotagging and social media, anyone with a smartphone can effortlessely map their life in great detail - through the places we live, work, study and socialise. What is essentially raw data can be transformed into what many consider a powerful surveillance tool. This installation piece incorporates, and requires, the audience to engage in such technology first hand on their own devices. Mapping my own life in Edinburgh from 2011, by means of my own personal typogolical series of every chips and cheese I’ve ever eaten photographed on my iPhone, the capabilities of this increasingly more powerful tool are evident, both through software and on the physical level.

Jack Low is a Glasgow born photographer, currently studying Photography and Film at Edinburgh Napier University. Drawn into photography at a young age through the love of technology, he has since produced works which critically examine modern culture, social media and the human condition through means of installation pieces and typologies. He has recently completed an exchange program studying at the School of Image Arts at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. He has work exhibted in North America, as well as back home in Scotland.

Check out Jack's work on his website, and his series Surveillance, Chips and Cheese from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Mal Kirsop

This project deals with the application of memory, which is instrumental to our understanding of Place. The photos in this series are taken out of focus, without detail the places become ambiguous. This series questions what makes somewhere a Place? Is it the literal place itself or the memory that is associated with that Place? Due to the inability to distinguish detail the viewer must consider the image and apply their own experiences and memories; the understanding of the images relies on this. Viewer’s interpretations of the photographs will vary. The ambiguity of the photos allows for many different Places to be represented in one image.

Mal is from Cheshire, she originally studied Photography at AS level and then at BTEC level, before coming to Edinburgh to study for a degree in Photography & Film. She is interested in various areas of Photography, including Landscape and Editorial.

Check out Mal's series Memory Displacement from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Lucy Johnston

A quote made by Plato stated “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” To me, music has played a vital role in my life. I constantly immerse myself into a place where the struggles of life and living are non- existent; where a single melody can drastically change the mood I am in when nothing else can. It is a place where my imagination runs wild and where time seems elusive. Once the headphones are placed on my head, the world is shut out.

The series describes the emotions, dreams and freedom that I feel when I listen to music. The images begin to portray a sense of entrapment, yet through the use of abstract, colourful and contemporary elements show how music alleviates this.

Originating from Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland, Lucy Johnston studied and graduated with an HND in Photography. This inspired her to further education, and it was her mothers’ encouragement that led Lucy to move and study in Edinburgh. She has an ever increasing like for portraiture and enjoys experimenting with photographs that push the boundaries of the norm for people to remember and question.

Check out Lucy's series Immersed Within Music from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Alexandra Folie

“They are but beggars that can count their worth.” ― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Beggars – these people are so fascinating. To ask passing strangers for money must be such a conquest. We choose to ignore them, to walk by in a wide berth or in some cases dropping a coin in their hat or paper cup. There is a personal boundary between them and us. I think no one from us ever stopped to speak to these very fascinating and interesting people. We are probably afraid to speak with them because we think we have nothing in common with these people but they had a real life before living on the street and beg to survive. I spoke to them and the reason why which led to their current situations astonished me. Through my photographs I want to draw attention to them, they are humans like you and me, but they eventually hadn’t so much luck like us.

Originally born in Brixen, Italy, Alexandra Folie moved to Austria to study media design. Currently she lives in Edinburgh as an exchange student and studies photography at Edinburgh Napier University. Alexandra inherited her passion for photography from her parents who loved to save special moments with their cameras. She loves to take pictures of things which most people don’t even notice.

Check out Alexandra's work on her website, and her series Boundaries from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Thomas Carr

A place we frequent a lot can become so familiar that we don’t pay any attention to detail as we walk through it, add in a new element to this place and suddenly we have a new place that we don’t recognise and transports us to “another world” . This project documents a Glasgow park that holds a light festival each year, transforming the once familiar surroundings into a spectacular outer world experience.

Thomas Carr is a Glasgow based photographer who entered the photography world in his fourties looking for a new career, after obtaining his HND at Reid Kerr college in Paisley, he then enrolled at Edinburgh Napier University were he is currently studying. His main focus is advertising and portrait photography.

Check out Thomas’s series work online, and his series A Walk In The Parkfrom the 8th of April until the closing event on the evening of the 11th of April at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Part Three: Displacement - Artist Spotlight: Sarah Burns

Thanks to everyone who came to the launch of Part Two: Analysis on Monday, and to everyone who came throughout the week. Today, we de-install to make way for the third and final part of the Place exhibition: Displacement. Opening on Tuesday and throughout the week, on Friday the closing event will take place from 6-9pm at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, featuring live DJs and the the last chance to grab a badge and catalogue!

In the build up to Part Three: Displacement, here are the artists who you can see exhibiting.

Home is a place where family resides, a safe haven and a place to relax. However, is a home a home without the personal influence of the individuals living inside? We spend countless amounts of money trying to furnish and decorate the homes we live in, yet is it not the smaller collective items scattered amongst the rooms, or placed purposefully on the mantlepeice that make a home look and feel personal? This series explores the photographer’s family home, but through removing and stripping back the separate rooms to contain only the heavy furniture, are the rooms private personal spaces anymore, or is it a detached unpersonal atmosphere that is left behind? Does the home still exist when there is an absence of human activity?

Sarah Burns is a Scottish photographer based near Edinburgh. From an early age, Sarah took interest in artistic and creative mediums of expression, after engaging with photography she knew that it was for her. It allows her the ability to explore new aspects of life, meet interesting people and develop herself as well as her work, on a personal and professional level.

Check out Sarah's series There's No Place Like Home from the 8th of April until the closing event on the 11th at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Lewis Mclean

Caillte, © Lewis Mclean, 2014, digital inkjet print

‘Caillte’ is a series of photographic works with corresponding audio shot in various locations across Central Scotland and Western Austria. The series is an emotional study and one of self exploration. With each image and corresponding audio file working together to evoke the notions of being lost, uncomfortable and claustrophobic yet juxtaposing with notions of reflection and self awareness, focusing on light and depth in order to achieve this.

Lewis Mclean is a photographer from Glasgow who since relocated to Edinburgh in 2011. Since then he has been producing work mostly within the fields of landscape and environmental portraiture. With particular inspiration being drawn from the works of impressionist painters and more notably the works of the Glasgow Boys.

Check out Lewis's work online, and his series Cailite at the launch of Part Two: Analysis at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Monday!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Elena Kollatou

Bitter-sweet feeling of something entirely lost. Traces in the present resuscitate dead recollections of a distant past, of home, family and friends. Memory is covered by a gentle foggy glow and slowly is fading away. What remains is this feeling of nostalgia. In this series of images I explore the feeling of nostalgia through places in Edinburgh and objects that remind me of home.

Elena Kollatou was born and raised in Athens, Greece where she developed a great awareness on social and political issues. She completed a 2-year course on Photography in Leica Academy, Athens and worked for 2 years as freelance photographer, before she decided to move to Edinburgh to continue her studies. She is currently studying both Photography and Film at Edinburgh Napier University and she uses photography as a tool to investigate different social and cultural environments.

Check out Eleni's work on her website, and her series Nostalgia at the launch of Part Two: Analysis on Monday at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Benny Hunter

Father, Forgive Me II, © Benny Hunter, 2014, digital Inkjet prints with flowers

Father, Forgive Me II is the second part in a continued photographic exploration of the relationship between faith and identity. This is a self-portraiture series in reaction to the high rate of suicide in queer youth (‘queer’ being an umbrella term for a sexuality or gender identity other than heterosexuality). Queer Youth are up to four times as likely as their heterosexual peers to commit suicide. What kind of place do these children occupy within our culture? Does our heteronormative society do enough to acknowledge children who fall outside that norm? I chose to use self-portraits in bodies of water to analyse how I place myself within this discourse.

Benny Hunter was born and raised in a Christian family in Aberdeenshire. He took up photography in 2011 and has since experimented with digital, film and experimental media. Alongside his photo art practice Benny is also a film maker, recently covering post-conflict issues in Uganda in the short documentary ‘Parenting The Missing’. He recently returned from a term studying abroad at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada. This project is his first time experimenting with self portraiture.

Check out Benny's work online, and his series Father, Forgive Me II at the launch of Part Two: Analysis at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Monday!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Manuela Neuner

A Certain Distance, © Manuela Neuner, 2014, digital Inkjet Prints

Distance is the separation between things, between two places. The distance may be the number of miles in between but also physical distance from another. What’s next for us as we look into the distance? It is impossible to predict the future, but for a certain distance we can see clearly what is ahead. This is a series of images exploring a city as a stranger, where everything seems new and exciting and slowly everything starts getting familiar. But there is still a disconnection somewhere. This series should encourage the spectator to think about how various distance can be perceived and what different emotions it can cause.

Manuela Neuner is studying Intermedia, a combination of different fields of media, in Austria and wants to focus her studies on photography, graphic design and illustration. Her passion for creative work and especially photography developed gradually from an early age and she likes how photography gives her an opportunity to interpret and reinterpret the world and things around her. She is currently undertaking an exchange semester at Edinburgh Napier University.

Check out her work online, and her series A Certain Distance at the launch of Part Two: Analysis at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Monday!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Sandy Sigala

The SS Explorer was built in 1955 by Alexander Hall & Company Ltd in Aberdeen. She is the embodiment of Scottish shipbuilding, engineering and scientific heritage and a lasting tribute to the Northern waters marine industry. The SS Explorer has sufficiently contributed to our knowledge and understanding of the fisheries and oceanography of the North East Atlantic, Barents and the North Sea. She is unique and the only vessel of her type in existence anywhere in the world. Since 1996, she has sat in the docks of Leith in need of repair. An enthusiastic group of volunteers have spent thousands of hours over the past 17 years trying to bring the ship back to life and hope to one day make the ship a living museum.

Kyriaki (Sandy) Sigala was born in Athens, Greece but moved to Toronto, Canada as a child. Her interest for photography was a subconscious thing growing- up as her mother is a visual artist herself. She graduated from Rosedale Heights School Of The Arts in 2005 and proceeded to study photography in IEK AKMH a private college in Athens. She is currently studying both photography and film at Edinburgh Napier University. Sandy has exhibited and published work internationally.

Check out Sandy's series A Portrait of Her at the launch of Part Two: Analysis at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Monday 31st of March!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Eilidh Leask

This project deals with the decline in the shipbuilding and fishing industry in Buckie, on the Moray Coast following the changes in fishing laws over the past few years. Buckie was once an incredibly busy and active location known for it’s shipbuilders since the early 1900’s with three working shipyards within close proximity to one another. In August of 2013, the last remaining shipyard went in to administration, with 68 out of the 74 staff working there being made redundant with immediate effect. Having grown up in this area I have witnessed how drastically the area has changed over the years.

This work aims to show the way in which this area has changed through comparisons between working shipyards and the empty shipyards of Buckie. Each of these images are framed using wood left behind from boats in one of Buckie’s now derelict shipyards.

Eilidh Leask was born and raised in Aberdeenshire. After studying an art portfolio course in Elgin, she developed a love for photography and went on to study HNC Photography at Aberdeen College before progressing to Edinburgh Napier University. Eilidh has a strong interest in photographing people and is hoping to pursue a career in editorial photography in the future.

Check out Eilidh's work on her website, and her series Decline to Dereliction at the launch of Part Two: Analysis at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Antoinette Mallon

“Change is the only constant in life.” – Heraclitus

Inspired by this quote this project focuses on my primary school, Holy Family in Mossend. A third of my life has been spent going to the school day after day. It is a place shrouded in memories. Returning to the school ten years after I left, I discovered the building and the interior unchanged, it remains the same even down to the smell. The only differences being the unfamiliar names assigned to desks. Although I was walking through the quiet building, I was walking through the fabric of time and I could hear the noises of my memories. The project features images of the school interior, shot partially through the reflections of mirrors to distort reality. By doing so I want to create the sense that I am not in the present, but rather focusing on the memories of my past.

Interested in studying something new, Antoinette Mallon began studying photography in her last year of high school where she developed a deep interest in the subject. She continued her study at Motherwell College between 2010-2012 achieving her HND before transferring to Edinburgh Napier. Antoinette specialises in commercial photography and has a keen interest in documentary, which she uses to create projects from personal viewpoints.

Check out Antoinette's work on her website, and at the launch of Part Two: Analysis at Out of the Blue Drill Hall!

Group Two: Analysis - Artist Spotlight: Lucy Richens

Thanks once again to everyone who came to check out Part One's show this past week! Now we transition to Part Two: Analysis over the weekend, with the launch on Monday night again at Out of the Blue Drill Hall. Check out the artists who will be exhibiting for the second of three parts in the build up to it.

Great Britain now has seven social classes, which span from precariat to elite. Utilising the BBC’s ‘Great British Class Calculator’, each sitter was invited to find out where they are placed within the social class structure. This test was conducted twice by considering both the current living standards of sitters and those provided in their last year of school. The project is an exploration into how my peers and I are positioned within this framework, and how this placement has been altered through increased independence. Further to this, it is an enquiry into the relationship between social class and political allegiance displayed through party preference and referendum choice.

Lucy Richens was born in London and has since lived in numerous places around Great Britain as well as Melbourne, Australia. The desire to maintain strong, optical memories of her life is what led her to photography and has aided her pursuit of visual representations of often intangible concepts. Currently completing her third year of BA Photography at Edinburgh Napier University, she is particularly interested in social commentary and documentary.

Check out Lucy's work on her website, and her series Placed at the launch of Part Two: Analysis!

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