Raw Collective is proud to present the work of six London-based artists in an exciting new exhibition.
Exposure explores the translation of the photographic image in art – it is not about photography or photorealism. Using photography as a starting point to produce a distinct response to personal concerns, these artists share a preoccupation with paint and print as mediums, and the relationship between art and photography as an area for investigation.
The title of the show Exposure can be read on many levels. While deliberately referencing the origin of the works, it also embodies its wider meaning – the act of laying open or bare. By stepping away from the initial photographic image, these artists ‘expose’ an alternative reality, challenging our experience of the truth.
Each artist takes a different approach to the question of exposing the photographic origin of the work. In some cases the link is deliberately tenuous in order to challenge our preconceptions. The intent in others is to challenge what photography can achieve when compared to the human imagination.
The exploration and exploitation of the aura of the photographic image in Exposure has resulted in a broad spectrum of responses, ranging from abstract painting and sculptural screen prints to the more traditional mediums of etching and woodcut.

Artist’s biographies

Trevor Banthorpe was born in Norwich and now lives and practices in London, specialising in classical wood cut printmaking. His work contemplates the mundane condition of everyday life as captured by the camera. By combining the modern and ancient methods in their approach, they manage to combine the strangely familiar with the eerily distant. Recent group exhibitions include Portable at Hales Gallery, 2009, First Impressions from CASSA Art at the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, 2009, and Originals 10 at the Mall Galleries, 2010.

Georgia Kay-Jagusch was born in Canada, and now lives and practises in London. Her work includes a mix of installation, printmaking and painting. Her current work of screenprints and paintings are based on a collection of personal photos taken through the years and explore ideas surrounding subculture, and touch on themes such as identity. Recent group exhibitions include Portable at Hales Gallery, 2009.

Sarah Knight’s work explores the darker side of the human ego, challenging our perceptions of beauty and our desire to control the world around us. Her current works investigate the durability of man. Using traditional mediums of print, drawing and paint, she transforms the familiar landscape, though manipulation of the photograph, to create a Ballardian future where man may no longer be in the ascendancy. Recent group exhibitions include Portable at Hales Gallery, 2009, and First Impressions from CASSA Art at the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, 2009.

Lucy Phillips has a multidisciplinary approach to her practice, working in a mix of sculpture, painting and printmaking. Her current works in screenprint explore themes surrounding disintegration and decay, and use layering to examine and reveal new insights into the process itself – both in a metaphysical and actual sense. Recent exhibitions include Inspired by… at the V&A, 2008, Portable at Hales Gallery, 2009, and First Impressions from CASSA Art at the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, 2009.

Eamonn Tighe uses the traditional media of painting and etching to explore modern forms of communication. In particular he investigates the idea of portraiture and personal identity via photography of people made available through Facebook, the ‘International Portrait Gallery of the masses’. Recent exhibitions include the Macbeth Centre, Hammersmith, 2008, Masbro Centre, Olympia, 2009, Portable at Hales Gallery, 2009, and First Impressions from CASSA Art at the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, 2009.

Jane Wachman’s abstract paintings and prints use her sense of colour and texture combined with seemingly random mark making to reinterpret our environment. She explores the idea of entrapment created by the devastation nature brings to the human landscape. Recent group exhibitions include Portable at Hales Gallery, 2009, First Impressions from CASSA Art at the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, 2009 and the 10th Contemporary Art Exhibition, in aid of Chase, at the Royal College of Art 2009.

Raw collective was set up to support and promote emerging London-based artists. For further information and visuals please contact rawcollective6@gmail.com