We are looking forward to Christchurch photographer Stuart Clook's exhibition of landscape photographs made using various alternative or antique printing processes; platinum-palladium, gum bichromate, cyanotype.
The exhibition opens on Friday evening, 28th August, 5pm-7pm. You are most welcome to come along.

Stuart Clook’s photography and print making are influenced by the Pictorial and Tonalism movements of the late 19th century. Stuart uses the photographic printing processes from this period with today’s  materials to make landscape prints in platinum, cyanotype, carbon and gum bichromate that describe his feelings and atmosphere of the places he visits.

These historical processes, renowned for their subtle tonal range, luminosity and inherent permanence are labour and time intensive yet rewarding and addictive. These help Stuart make his prints in a uniquely personal way and where he can use his hands in today’s digital and machine-centric world.

Stuart is a self-taught landscape photographer and printmaker who lives on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island working almost exclusively with medium and large format cameras. Stuart has held solo exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia and his prints are held in private collections throughout New Zealand and Australia.

Artist talks
Stuart will be giving artist talks at 1pm on Saturday 29th August and again on Saturday 12th September. Both talks are free to attend. You don't need to book, just come along, but please check this site or Photospace Gallery on Facebook for updates.

Platinum Printing Workshops
Stuart will be running two Platinum Printing workshops, using our studio and darkrooms at Photospace & Courtenay Studios. These are on the weekends of 29th-30th August and 12th-13th September. Numbers are very limited for both workshops - 4 places only. More info below. Booking is through Stuart Clook via his site: www.stuartclook.com
There is more info on the Platinum Printing workshops below.

Platinum printing Workshops with Stuart Clook:
Photospace Gallery, 37 Courtenay Place, Wellington
Aug 28/29th and Sept 12/13th, 2020  (9am to 5pm)
 
Platinum printing is incredibly beautiful, tactile and archival and if you are interested in learning how to make your own hand made platinum palladium prints then this is the perfect introduction workshop. This 2 day weekend workshop is intensive and hands-on with the emphasis being solely on printing and is designed so you will leave with a solid understanding of the process to continue printing when you return home.
Platinum palladium printing is history’s ultimate photographic process and one of the most archival of all photographic mediums available. It is impervious to light fading and environmental damage and will last as long as the paper that supports it. Archivally framed and properly cared for a platinum palladium print is capable of lasting more than a thousand years.
 
The weekend workshop will take you through in detail,
·      Materials and equipment required
·      Calibrating and Printing your digital negatives with an inkjet printer
·      Coating papers with the platinum palladium solutions
·      Finding your standard exposure times for platinum printing  and processing the print to archival standards
·      Further resources and suppliers for equipment and materials.
 
The first day we spend learning how to establish exposure settings and how to print and calibrate digital negatives using an inkjet printer. By the end of the first day you will be making your first full size platinum palladium print. The second day we continue printing your images learning how to control hue and tone, fine tuning your digital negatives and how to troubleshoot  the process. 
We will be making prints from digital image files and you are encouraged to bring your own digital images to print.  Further guidance on the images and format will be sent to you nearer the time.
 
There are prepared detailed notes for you to take away including where to source the materials and equipment you will need when you get home.
Total cost for the 2day Platinum Printing workshop including all materials and workshop notes with morning/ afternoon tea is $680.  The number or participants is limited to a maximum of four at each workshop.
 
To make a booking  or for further details or question please contact Stuart directly through his website www.stuartclook.com

We're having a Saturday opening for Lucien's exhibition, 11.30am to 2pm on the 25th of July. You are most welcome to come along.
Photospace Gallery has held solo exhibitions by Lucien Rizos in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2014.
Note: new gallery hours are 10am-3pm Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm Saturdays.

A Man of His Time

My Uncle Gerald was born in 1924, and died in 2017. Shortly  after his death his wife, my Aunt Fausta, suffered a severe stroke. She is now in the hospital ward of Rita Angus retirement home.

 These four bookcases are in their house which has remained unoccupied for two and a half years. 
… the contents of the bookcases show the specific reading of a liberal person of his time and place.

I have made these photographs, plus others which also appear in some of the magazines, over a long period, ... since December 2017.

This  exhibition is small portion of a larger project, …
…..of which the magazines play an important part.

- Lucien Rizos, July 2020

The Larger Project

Gerald hoarded/collected every scrap of work he considered worth saving, from  infancy onward.
The collection of magazines is in 2 parts:
       (A) Eight of the magazines  deal with  a fictional world he created, from infancy onward, seemingly just for himself. Imaginary countries, detailed maps of these imaginary countries, wars between these countries, Governments and armed forces of these countries, and boxes filled with cutouts of the imaginary people that were in the administrations and leaders of these imaginary countries. This was created at a time when Europe was in flux. The Second World War had started when he was only 15 years old.
[The displayed magazines marked with yellow stickers - Set A.]

 This project was probably wound up sometime in the 1970’s.

If looked at closely, everything seems to be  connected.   

Gerald was a very public man, known and respected in his time, yet no one in his family, or even his wife knew of his imaginary world.  Why this was created is a mystery.

       (B) Almost all the content in the remaining seven magazines is from Gerald’s collection of objects and photos; except for the images I have made over a two-and-a-half year period when the house was unoccupied.

They act as slivers of content  looking into a life over time; a wide range of  different aspects, subjects, interests and pursuits. [The displayed magazines marked with red stickers - Set B.]

…this is an ongoing project.

- Lucien Rizos, July 2020

You may have seen much of this series of Andrew Ross' photographs on the online exhibition 'A Month of Sundays - responses to the Covid-19 Lockdown'. I included 15 of Andrew's photos, so there are six more here in the gallery, and you can see the actual silver-gelatin prints.

We're having a kind of 'soft opening' on Saturday 13th June, running from 11am to 2pm. Andrew will be here for it and you're most welcome to come along.

While this exhibition runs (till mid-July), I'll be reorganising the rest of this year's exhibition programme, which was suspended when the gallery closed on 23rd March due to NZ going to Alert Level 3. Also, my own exhibition 'Quit Now Before It Is Too Late' with its accompanying hand-made book is still on show in the office, simply because I haven't got around to taking it down yet.

Please note: the new gallery hours are 10am to 3pm Monday-Friday and 11am-2pm Saturday. After-hours viewing is available by appointment.

We hope you can join us on Saturday. It'll be nice to have the gallery open again and see people here for something other than passport photos.
Cheers
James Gilberd
Photospace Gallery, 1st floor 37 Courtenay Place, Wellington.
j.gilberd@xtra.co.nz  |  04 382 9502  |  027 444 3899  |  photospacegallery.nz