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Richard Lloyd Lewis

Lewis is a photographic artist based near Bath, having studied photography at Exeter and later at the University of The Arts London he explores role specific institutional environments, using the photographic medium not only to document but also to express the spatial phobia of alien interiors that society has deemed unfit or out of bounds from the public gaze.

Role specific disciplinary institutions of this kind offer an oppressive and frequently cruel medical and historical discourse, through metonymy the space has become synonymous with its subject, a message that Lewis has translated photographically through the environmental discourse. Their hidden meaning has been lost, the social theories of the time do not apply in today’s technological reasoning and the buildings original purpose and concept has little relevance in modern society, this dissociation is today reflected in the apparent uselessness and ultimate derelict state.

Working with such an ambiguous subject Lewis is acutely aware of the challenge of its interpretation through the photographic medium, by consciously not attempting to document these unfamiliar interior landscapes to portray his subject, he perhaps more interestingly uses the photographic medium combined with the architectural language to project the experiences and spatial phobia that these structures are associated with, attributes that are frequently interpreted through film and literature to impose their psychological qualities on the viewer, resonating the environments uncompromising presence.

By blurring the division between found evidence and constructed performance, by bridging the gap between the documentary and the fictional, Lewis subtly alters and arranges these interiors in an attempt to convey this ambiguous message. Through subtle alterations, by combining found objects within the interior landscape Lewis produces an ambiguity that hints at the psychological aspect of his subject. Through this metaphorical language these factors introduce an uncanny and abstract quality to the photographs, something that bridges the gap between the dialect of the subject and the concept of memory. Lewis addresses the haunting interior spaces of these neglected interiors to emphasis the psychologically loaded environment, highlighting the confusion and control that the interiors were once witness to, the images hint at the events that were never seen, resonating the former human occupation that were ultimately controlled and influenced by these archaic environments.

Education

  • 2006
    • University Of The Arts London, LCC MA Photography
  • 1996
    • University Of Plymouth, Exeter School Of Art & Design BA (Hons) Design Photography
  • 1993
    • Cardiff Institute Of Higher Education

Current teaching post

The Arts University College at Bournemouth; Senior Lecturer - FdA / BA (Hons) Commercial Photography - Present

Exhibitions: 1995-2009

Prema Arts - Uley, Gloucester
AAF - Bristol
AAF Battersea, London
Welsh Artist Of The Year
BCO - Paintworks, Bristol
Welsh Artists of The Year Exhibition. St-David’s Hall, Cardiff
The Galleries, LCC, London
Escape, London
Ingo, Whitechapel, London
Lounger. Lounge Gallery, London
Welsh Artists of The Year Exhibition. St. David’s Hall, Cardiff
Welsh Artists of The Year Exhibition. St. David’s Hall, Cardiff
Images From The Tom Blau Print Collection. Tom Blau Gallery, London
London Art. Jak Gallery, Hoxton, London
Art Well. The Princes Foundation Gallery, Hoxton, London
Welsh Artists of The Year Exhibition. St-David’s Hall, Cardiff
Wall Space. Association of Photographers Gallery, London
14x14. Century Gallery, London
Images From The AOP Print Collection Association of Photographers Gallery, . London
O2. Association of Photographers Gallery, London
Still Life Tart Gallery, London
Welsh Artists of The Year Exhibition St. David’s Hall, Cardiff
Celebration. Association of Photographers Gallery, London
Mint on Montague. London
New Members. Association of Photographers Gallery, London
The Passage. Christies Exhibition and Art Auction, Holborn, London
Green Project. The Manuella Hoffa Gallery, Islington, London
Battersea Arts Centre, London
Exeter Arts Centre, Exeter
Fuji Award Winners.V&A Museum, London
Metro Student Award Winner Metro Studios, London

Features & Publications

Editorial:

  • 2005
    • Toblerone Ad Campaign featured in Lurzers Archive
  • 1999-2005
    • Published in Design Week – Various commercial jobs form
  • 1998-2005
    • Features in Creative Review - Design/Advertising commissions
  • 2004
    • Feature article in Pozytyw Magazine, Poland
    • Feature article by Terry Hope, Professional Photographer Magazine
  • 2003
    • Cover story, Image Magazine
  • 1996
    • Metro Student Winner - BJP
    • Fuji Student Winner - BJP

Books

Selected to produce 3 commissions for ‘The Passage’. Christies Auction House London, art catalogue and collaborative book alongside artists Tracy Emin, Anish Kapoor, Gavin Turk, Martin Parr and Nadav Kander

Published article in What’s Missing? : New Conversations on Black and White Photography by Eddie Ephraums 2000

Published in The Big Issue Book of Home by Eddie Ephraums 2000

Awards

  • 2009
    • Short-listed for the AOP Lecturers Awards
    • Short-listed Welsh Artist Of The Year
  • 2008
    • Short-listed Welsh Artist Of The Year
  • 2007
    • Short-listed Welsh Artist Of The Year
  • 2005
    • Short-listed Welsh Artist Of The Year
  • 2001
    • Association Of Photographers Christmas Award Winner
  • 1999
    • Voted London Contemporary Photographer Of The Year, Winner
  • 1998
    • Shell Live Wire Business Award, Winner
  • 1997
    • The Princes Trust Business Grant and Award for New Businesses
  • 1996
    • The Greg O’Shea Award For Photographic Excellence, Winner
    • Metro Student Photography Award, Winner
    • Fuji Student Award Winner

Academic invitations

The Arts Institute at Bournemouth
University of Gloucester
Plymouth College of Art & Design
Blackpool and the Fylde University
Kent Institute of Art & Design
University of Plymouth
Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology

Research Projects

‘code name: Burlington’The Corsham Bunker - A series of studies in the bunker that was built during the start of the cold war, the underground city where the Royal family would reside with a select few to control the country in the wake of nuclear fallout, the context of this project will be realized through a photographic book and supporting exhibition

Continuation of research into the psychology of architecture, concentrating on the purpose built environment used as a tool to communicate its use, looking at the indexical trace and memory left by disused spaces where confinement and control were the underlying factors

'The Cuckoo Trail’, a project focusing on the Victorian Lunatic Asylum, its design and function, and how its message can be projected though its architecture and translated through the photographic medium

I actively continue to research contemporary photographic practice through a variety of media

Commercial Experience

Freelance Art Direction & Photographic Production

  • 2007-09
    • Art Direction & Photographic Production for the music Industry
  • 1997-2005
    • Greenproject Art Direction & Photography Studio - Partner
    • Photographic Production for various above the line Advertising Campaigns
    • Above the line Advertising Art Direction for: HHCL, Ogilvy, Wieden & Kennedy, M & C Saatchi, Joshua, Banks Hoggins O’Shea FCB, RKCR Y&R
    • Art Direction for Design Agencies: Stylorouge London, C&FD, Alex Jenkins Studio, Sparkplug Design, Big Active, The Partners, Attik Design, Clinic, Main Artery
    • Music Industry: EMI Music Group, Warner Music Group, Parlaphone, Beggars Banquet, 4AD, London Records, Island Records, WEA Records
    • Editorial Art Direction & Photography through: The Times, ETP Publishing, Dennis Publishing, 20/20 Europe, Scene Magazine, Dazed & Confused. Cover shoots,indent pages and features, both studio and location
    • Art Direction & Photography in the Publishing Industry: Penguin Books, RandomHouse, Orion, MacMillan, Simon and Schuster, Transworld Publishing
  • 1996-97
    • Art Direction & Photographic Production for various artists on:
    • Parlaphone Records, EMI Records, Beggars Group, BMG
    • Collaborative projects for the music industry with various Design Agencies
    • Art Direction, set design & construction for various projects in the publishing field
    • Art Direction & Photographic Production on Book titles from: MacMillan, Orion Books, Random House, Penguin Books
    • Art Direction on a number of music videos
    • Film ‘Stills’ photographer for a variety of music videos and features at Elstree Film Studios London

Clients worked for include:

ITV, BAT, Cobra Beer, O2, Toblerone, The Streets, Lynx, Capital Radio, Herbal Essences, The Passage, Virgin, Aiwa

Artwork owned by:

Tate Gallery, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Lloyds TSB; Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, John M. Flaxman Library, School of Art Institute of Chicago; All Saints Library, Manchester Metropolitan Museum; UWE, Bristol; University of Leeds; Yorkshire Arts Association; Halifax Building Society; private collectors in UK, Germany, USA and Israel.

 

Richard Lloyd Lewis
e-mail: mail@lloydlewis.co.uk (home)
www.lloydlewis.co.uk (website)