The Trespasser 1.Medium:
PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE.
More of this series.


Tom Jeffreys surveys an exhibition of work by emerging contemporary photographers.
Excerpt from an article by Tom Jeffreys
My favourite work however, and by some distance, is Lynne Collins' The Trespasser 1 [pictured above]. A background interior of ragged dereliction – sallow sagging wallpaper, detritus-strewn flooring – ties the image in with the others on show here. But there's more. In the foreground – overlaid I think in post-production – spreads a majestic still-life, evocative in tone and lighting of those seventeenth century Dutch masters like Jan Davidsz. de Heem. Grapes and apples spill from a bronze bowl, flowers erupt from a vase, transparent pink liquor stands in an elegant crystal decanter and goblet. Crisply in focus, it's – and this might sound silly – rather reminiscent of photorealist painters like Richard Estes, whilst the deliberately constructed composition reminds me of Noemie Goudal.
The startling contrast between these two styles of image sets up an opposition between the aspirations of traditional painting on the one hand, and the 'authenticity' of photography on the other. That these two styles co-exist within the same (photographic) image suggests perhaps the superiority of photography as a medium, or rather its all-conquering versatility. In On Photography, Susan Sontag wrote that, “Now all art aspires to the condition of photography.” Photomonth suggests this might be a good thing. Full article can be seen by clicking here