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helen exelby

A former student at Ripon Grammar School, Exelby then went on to study Art Foundation Studies at Leeds College of Art and Design 2002-2003, where she developed a keen interest in black and white photography.

Exelby graduated with BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Newcastle University, having been selected for the university exchange programme to RMIT in Melbourne, Australia in February 2007. Exelby spent six months in Melbourne focusing her study exclusively in photography, using medium and large format cameras and experimenting with alternative processes in the darkroom.

Much time has been spent recording experiments in ‘lith’ printing; often with highly unpredictable outcomes depending on choice of paper, temperature and dilution of chemicals, as well as the age of the chemicals after dilution. All results and discoveries are recorded for future reference and progression. Exelby have found that some of the most interesting work is often the result of chance, an unexpected result in the darkroom.

Exelby’s images are taken from decomposing plant matter, where the form has dramatically changed as they have lost their vibrant colours, drooped and wrinkled. They evince a fascination with the aesthetic of scientific exploration; the grainy colourless images reminiscent of imagery from old biology books and botanical studies. There are also sinister similarities to human flesh, enhancing the sense of a ‘memento mori’ similar to that of the ‘vanitas’ paintings of the seventeenth century Dutch painters. The image of the artist’s or scientist’s ‘specimen’ is captured under close magnification. In many cases the whole identity is lost and the fragment assumes its own within the frame, perhaps asking us to view the photograph itself as another ‘specimen’.

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