Kaleidoscopic Montages
Cascade or Column, 1991. The basis is a simple study which many photographers
would have taken similar examples of at some time or another.
To make his multi-centred kaleidoscopic montages, Peter Andrews takes
a conventional image on colour negative film, and repeats it using normal
and 'flipped' prints in a planned pattern to produce a large exhibition
panel.
Born in 1925 in the small village of Kingsteignton, Devon, he worked as
a scientist, engineer, manager, statistician and epidemiologist until 1990
when he moved from Cheshire to Northumberland.
He has spent the last three years as an artist/photographer, made possible
by selling his house in Widnes and taking rented accommodation to finance
his projects. The rented accommodation is, however, a little unusual p;
an eighteenth-century folly in the form of a mock castle perched high on
a crag, built by the 3rd Duke of Northumberland for use as an observatory.
Peter much prefers to be thought of as artist than as a photographer.
Egyptian Style, Newcastle 1991. The original is of ornamental brickwork
near Eldon Square
Although he has a good eye for conventional saleable images, he doesn't
shoot scenic postcards or calendar views. He believes that most of us are
capable of this type of shot p; and he has a desire to be different.
Because the final montage is composed from many small machine prints, he
can use Kodak's Ektar 1000 high speed negative film, and avoid problems
with low light, hand-holding or lack of depth of field. He prefers, however,
to use the medium-speed Ektar.
His choice of camera imposes an unusual degree of discipline p; while
he shoots landscapes and general shots on a pocketable Tessar-lensed Rollei
35, he uses a Bronica ETRS fitted with a 35mm back and standard 70mm lens
for the detailed close-ups used for montages. He also uses a Pentax MX with
standard 135mm tele lens, providing edge to edge sharpness, necessary for
this type of work.
Byzantine, Newcastle 1991. The original photograph is of railway lines
entering Newcastle Central Station.
Peter's work has been exhibited in the region and used for a postcard
project jointly produced with Newcastle City Libraries.
Return to Photon June 96 Contents
The picture to the right was used for the cover photograph.
