Masters at Work - EXQUISITE CORPSE, the Happening 2011
I had the extreme pleasure of being invited to a charity fund raiser/exhibition event on the 26th November by a really good friend of mine – Nicole Hartley, who was Exhibiting and participating in the event. I decided to participate by doing what I do best – Photographing but adding a spin to it by using one of my babies – My lensbaby 2.0 to be precise!
The art exhibition / charity event was put together in the hopes of raising money to help uplift the Robin Hills Primary School and the help set up a vegetable garden.
The “Happening” was loosely based on a Surrealist movement game that emerged in the 1920’s called “exquisite Corpse” and would be played with the hopeful intentions of provoking a collective unconscious activity amongst the participants. These participants, often writers, would “doodle” on a piece of paper, placing part of an image or prose as unconsciously as possible. Then it would be folded closed or concealed from the group and passed on to the next participant for his or her contribution. This would continue until all participants had made contributions to the piece of paper. The results were often bazaar and uncanny. “Exquisite Corpse” relied on the chance encounter as a means of disruption of the rational, the logical, and a product of the shared unconscious.
The various “Happenings” that took placed on the evening was an Exhibition of over
23 Participating artists, each artwork ranging from painting, drawing and sculpture.
A Collaborative Tattoo by Artists: Gerrit Botha, Callum Els, Damian Martins.
There was also a Collaborative Canvas, which Artists friends of mine Sarah Grant and Nicole Hartley took part in. As well as a sketch battle, which was my favourite of the night.
These images are shot on my D300, with the Lensbaby 2.0 with a 5.6 aperture ring. The Lensbaby 2.0 allows the photographer to tilt and shift the front of the lens, which allows you to move the focus/ sharp area or better know as the “Sweet Spot” around.
This throws traditional photography out the window – but correct exposure is still KEY!
