Frome photographer, Tim Gander, has used the contents of a skip to create a set of photos which are currently accompanying an exhibition, The Chemistry of Bronze, at Black Swan Arts in Frome.
The exhibition, curated by local ceramic artist Hans Borgonjon, features bronze works by five established UK artists. Visitors will also be able to find out more about how bronze is cast, in particular the lost wax method.
Tim explained, “Hans approached me and asked if I would be interested in putting together a set of images to introduce the main exhibition and I was really excited by the possibilities.
“I had a totally open brief except for one constraint, which was that illustrations, demonstrations and photos of the process of bronze casting would form part of the exhibition, so I just had to avoid replicating that.”
After a trip to Art of a Fine Nature, the foundry in Shepton Mallet which has made the bronze exhibits for the exhibition, Tim decided to take an unusual approach to illustrating the subject.
“While I was at the foundry I’d seen they had a large skip full of broken ceramic casings and spilled lumps of bronze which are a waste by-product of the casting process,” says Tim. “I noticed these fragments had traces of patterns in them which reflected the sculptures they had encased, so I spent a couple of hours digging through the dust and rubble until I had some really striking pieces.
“I took them away and photographed them to look like archaeological finds. They reminded me of fossils, or fragments of ancient pottery or art and I wanted to give a new lease of life to what would normally be thrown away.”
Tim has given his photos the title ‘Skip Art’ to reflect their back-story and they can be seen on the walls of Black Swan Arts in the areas leading up to the main exhibition in the Long Gallery.
For more information about the exhibition, search The Chemistry of Bronze on Facebook or look for the Frome Festival listing. The exhibition runs until Sunday 15th July.
