Portrait of a Species

source: bankstreetgallery

Rowan Corkill is a 22 year old artist living in Fife, just outside St. Andrews. A recent graduate of Gray’s School of Art (BA Hons in Photography and Electronic Media), he prefers not to be asked anything about cameras as “I wouldn’t have a clue”!

Ever since seeing the work of Marcel Duchamp Joseph Cornell and Richard Rosenberg he was immediately fascinated by the use of everyday objects. This became a reoccuring aspect in his own work and whilst in second year at Gray’s a vernacular photography project opened up the idea of using found pictres – artists Richard Prince and Christian Boltanski becoming huge influences.

According to artist: “Whilst most spent their student loans on booze and clothes etc…I spent mine on old family photographs, army regimental images, post-mortem photos, taxidermy and pieces of strange old medical equipment, half of which I still don’t know the use of! This meant spending my days trailing through antique stores and junk shops, as well as using Ebay as a vital source! This may seem like complete junk to most people but to me these are pieces of art in their own right. When it comes to my work I often try to make small and simple alterations such as pocking eye holes into images or using collage to swap eyes in a masked effect (notice the theme!). Although simple, I often find these techniques to be the most effective creating thought provoking and sometimes quite beautiful images.

Within my use of family images that I found I have been fascinated by the memories that are held within these types of images and the way in which they are lost when departed from their original owners. On a less serious note, I also enjoy creating surreal collage works using Victorian pictorial archive images along with medical illustrations conjuring up strange creatures and faces similar to the eccentric works of Arcimboldo. I love the freedom and randomness of chance that is created through collage as well as the lack of extreme theory and meaning (which is always nice!)”
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source: rowandgcorkill

Rowan Corkills work is created from a deep ethnological fascination with various cultural religious and occult beliefs, many of which are founded on a cross pollination of reality and fantasy.

The artist uses his practice as a means to explore and examine the endless distortions of reality which the human mind has transformed into fantastical mythologies and ideologies. The similar role of the artist as creator is also questioned with particular interest in how the use of fiction can be used as a tool to acknowledge and question our presence on the planet.

Esotericism & Alchemy have played a significant role in the artist’s current practice, with particular interest in the Great works or philosopher stone. Incorporated stages of this secret process as starting points for his own work, the artist has re-interpreting each stage with his own ideas which often stem from various religious beliefs and cultural folklore

Within each stage a huge variety of influences and inspirations shape the creative process. Youth subcultures, African art & Voodoo, Occult worship and secret initiations, Catholic art and medieval history are but a few of the ever expanding interests which shape the artists world. These influences merge together to produce works which are both strangely familiar and completely unknown.

Rowan Corkills work features many strange and bizarre materials collected from human animal and plant life, most of which are imbued with strong symbolic references and meanings. These symbolisms are often created out of superstitious and fictitious beliefs which elevate the objects and materials beyond the ‘norms’ of the everyday. Yet the creations of these beliefs are firmly rooted in realism as the core of all things.

The Artist works within varying artistic fields including sculpture drawings performance photography sound and taxidermy.

PLEASE NOTE- The above description is based on Current projects- Nigredo Albedo and Rubedo. This information does NOT relate to any works in the ARCHIVE section. If you wish to find out information about any of the works featured in the ARCHIVE section please do not hesitate to contact me.

NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE WORKS.
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source: ignantde

In seiner Serie ‘Portrait of Species’ zeigt Rowan Corkill eine Sammlung von toten Tieren, so als würde er selbst gerade von der Jagd kommen und seinen Fang stolz den Betrachtern präsentieren. Alle Fotografien sind Selbstporträts von Corkill, der mit leerem Blick und einem Tier im Mund in die Kamera starrt.

Corkill stellt den Menschen als dominanten Räuber weit über alle Nahrungsketten dar und hinterfragt verschiedene Aspekte unserer Existenz und unsere Position auf diesem Planeten. Die Distanz, die wir zu anderen Arten aufgebaut haben, den Verlust natürlicher Instinkte und Sinne, sowie unsere Trennung von der Natur und deren natürlichen Zyklen. Abgesehen von dem Kanarienvogel, wurden alle verwendeten Tiere an am Straßenrand gefunden. Alle Tiere sind in Folge der kontinuierlichen Einwirkung des Menschen auf den Planeten gestorben.
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source: appnewsfanswong

看到動物媽媽們叼著自己的孩子走來走去好像滿可愛的，但如果換成人叼著動物拍照呢？而且還是死掉的動物喔…… 藝術家Rowan Corkill就用此方式拍攝了名為《Portrait of a species》的系列照片，雖然他自己也說剛開始覺得滿噁心的，但是為了完成這個攝影集，他也就忍下來了～
除了金絲雀以外，其他死掉的的動物都是在路上撿來的
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source: colunasgloboruralglobo

Sabe quando um cachorro encontra um animal morto na rua e aparece na frente do dono carregando o bicho no focinho? Foi esta a sensação que Rowan Corkill quis reproduzir com sua obra “Portrait of a Specie” ou, na tradução para o português, “Retrato de uma Espécie”.

Acupunturista usa abelhas no lugar de agulhas para tratamentos diversos e faz sucesso entre pacientes

O fotógrafo escocês chocou espectadores de sua obra ao retratar-se com bichos mortos em sua própria boca. Coelho, gato, passarinho, esquilo e corvo estão entre os animais que Corkill abocanhou quando já estavam sem vida.

Apaixonado por taxidermia – arte que consiste em dissecar animais mortos para os conservar com aparência de vivos – e antiguidades, Corkill viu na produção de “Portrait of a Specie” uma oportunidade de misturar os conceitos de presa e predador.

“O interessante da arte é promover uma colagem que possa questionar a teoria e os significados extremos”, disse o fotógrafo sobre seu trabalho.