Sunday 30 May 2010

snap - a conceptual photography relay race


snap is a work in development
Responding the work of Doug Huebler, and the use of the camera by artists to automate image-making and bring in elements of chance.

Two competitors each receive a disposable camera and - within 24 minutes - take a set of 24 photos to most exactly replicate my photos of 24 arbitrarily selected buildings taken nearby. I immediately develop/print the films. The most accurate photographer of the pair wins; the new photos form the starting point for the next competitors.

‘snap’ functions on various levels. It emphasises lack of authorship – I do not make an aesthetic decision but randomly photograph 24 buildings in the surrounding area. The subject matter of buildings is arbitrary. Participants are more ‘camera operators’ than photographers; asked to re-enact the taking of photographs I started, which may mean copying those of another participant. In effect, the participants are asked to act out a live version of a reprint, with inevitable approximations.

The images produced in each round could be used to fabricate sets of 'snap' card games, where the pairs in the game are each a 'not quite' match due to the process used to create the duplicates.



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