TITLE: Beyond the Figurative

Modern architecture has long fascinated photographers and the world’s iconic skyscrapers have been photographed so many times and from so many different angles. To create a new and personal visual perspective of these beautiful buildings, I drew inspiration from the abstract art movements of the 20th Century which charted a journey from the figurative representation of reality towards increasing levels of abstraction, with the use of lines and geometric shapes and forms; colour is used to communicate mood and rhythm.

In this series of images, I pay particular homage to the periods of art termed Constructivism and Concretism. Constructivism was the art of the Soviet Union after the revolution of 1917 and was rooted in the depiction of utilitarian objects (in my case, skylights and staircases). Concretism moves away from any discernible figurative basis with a view that artwork should refer to nothing other than itself, using repeating patterns that do not represent external reality but instead, say, an algebraic formula.

I have selected these images from dedicated photography explorations of Chicago and Vancouver.

AUTHOR: David King (United Kingdom)

I have been an enthusiastic photographer since the age of 16 when I started developing and printing my own negatives (both B&W and colour). Many years on from then. with the advent of digital, I gave up my beloved Olympus OM4 and moved to Nikon, progressing from a D300 to D500, and more recently to a full frame Z7 II. For me, digital has unlocked the creative experience, making it much more immediate than before. The capability it offers to evolve one’s perspectives on a chosen subject to find the best representation of one’s artistic vision has re-engaged me with my passion.

Composition has always been a key element of my work, and I have studied the techniques of artists to draw the eye and mind of the viewer into an image. Using the immediacy of digital has enabled me to actually slow down the creative process and (perhaps counter-intuitively) to spend much more time exploring a particular subject from every angle, with different lenses and employing a variety of techniques. I am particularly drawn to abstract representations to capture the essence of the subject that goes beyond a purely figurative representation.

Recently, I was delighted to be nominated for the Amateur Abstract category in the 9th Fine Art Photography Awards.