SSGB

Slow light

6 months over Bristol.

An exhibition of 6-month duration exposures
by pinhole photographer Justin Quinnell
September 26th - October 24th 2008

Cafe-At-Bristol
Anchor Road
Harbourside Bristol
BS1 5DB

Enquiries and information: 0845 345 1235
Switchboard: +44 (0)117 909 2000 General: information@at-bristol.org.uk

One of the many qualities of pinhole photography is its ability to capture time exposures, to see durations of time beyond our vision.

Usually this is in the range of a few seconds, but by combining old and new technologies, it is possible to achieve exposures of far greater duration.

I have always been fascinated with astronomy, its immense scales of space and time reaching far beyond comprehension within our own short instances on Earth.

The project was to record views of Bristol, with the sun trailing across the sky from the winter solstice (22nd December) to the summer solstice (the 20th of June).

The technique is not new. Several people are currently doing similar work. Paolo Gioli in Italy and Tarja Trygg in Finland are both experts in this area. I just wanted my hometown of Bristol to be imaged in this way.

As with all of my work, I try to avoid analysing until the images are on a wall.All I know is that this approach has within it the potential for accessible wonder and that is all the reason I need.

Most of the cameras survived 6 months of wind, rain, hail (and being thrown in the bin!). Several were blank; one was full of water, (the emulsion on the photographic material having floated off.) and one, still exposing, currently sits inaccessibly under 10 foot of bramble, waiting for winter to be recovered.

Justin Quinnell's exhibition will run from 26 September to 31 October at Theory Café, At-Bristol and is free of charge unless you feel tempted to come into the Café for a drink!

For further information on Justin, please visit his website: www.pinholephotography.org.

For further press information, please contact Zoë Fox in the At-Bristol press office on: 0117 9157 152 or email: press@at-bristol.org.uk

Justin is the pinhole photography consultant to the next Rachel Weisz movie entitled 'The Brothers Bloom' being released in October.