A few polaroids taken on a trip to Brighton
a few weeks ago...

Forgot to mention that these were all taken with
a Model 1 SX-70 that I bought from the great
people at the Impossible shop in HK.

A long overdue update!
Lots of things have been happening since I last
posted, and as a result I havn't really made much
new work for some time now..
However, now that things have settled a bit I
plan to start working on some ideas.

I also have a space waiting for me at the gallery I work
at, so that should be all teh insentive I need to make work :p
For now though, I'm going to put up some polaroids I took on
my recent trip to Hong Kong.
It was quite an experience and something I'm hugely glad I did.
Rather than describing teh trip etc, I'll take the simple option and
let the photos do that for me...

http://www.saatchionline.com/profile/153796

I have finally got round to properly uploading and
pricing some work for my Saatchi Online profile.
So go and have a browse, tell your friends and family
and maybe even buy something :p

An older stencil exposure piece and a few new ones..
The new ones are smaller and have a focus on the
old big and bold typorgraphy encountered while at
Coney Island, NYC.

Two more diptych emulsion lifts.
I have tried manipulating the various layers a bit
more with these. Doing feels almost like mixing and
overworking paint on a canvas.
I aiming to try and acquire some found polaroids to
then bring through this process. Both as a way of
re-animating the image/memory, and also as a way of
almost making the image mine, despite my not knowing
of the history or events behind it.

While my previous polaroid experiments were quite
interesting, I didn't really feel there was anywhere I
could take them.
So, this led me to try out the "emulsion lift/transfer"
process. Although most of the stuff I read about it
either recommended using specific film (669) or 35mm
slide film. Freshly processed film was also recommended..
However I couldn't see why it wouldn't work with standard
600 film processed a few years ago, and besides I don't have
any fresh film to use.
When I was applying the emulsion image to the watercolour paper,
I was trying to pull bits apart and alter the image in different ways.
This was at odds with the examples I had seen, where the images
had obviously been carefully transferred so as to keep them as
intact and as recognisable as possible.
Anyway I'm pretty pleased with the results, and I have more
planned!

I tried a few experiments with "peeling" some old

polaroids recently, after reading an article on the Impossible Project website.

http://shop.the-impossible-project.com/allabout/silvershade/#ilovepeelings

Ideally I think it is intended to be done with freshly
taken film, but I managed to get some quite subtle,
but quite beautiful results with quite old film.
I found that soaking the polaroids in hot water for five
or so minutes allows for the emulsion to peel far easier.
I have some ideas of where to take this, so stay tuned for
more!

This is one of two new large 2 part pieces.
After first trying out this technique for the exhibition at
the end of my Brighton residency, I decided to re-explore it.
It involves cutting a multi-part stencil which is then laid over
sections of vintage FB photographic paper. After a few days
the nature of the paper being light sensitive means that the area
covered by the stencil has not had a chance to expose, thus leaving
a ghost like copy of the stencil behind.
When I did this for the Brighton exhibition, it was with the intention of
allowing the image to fade over a number of days. However I wanted
to find a way of preserving the image by stopping the the paper exposing.
I thought it might take a bit of trial and error with different methods, but
it turns out that using chemical darkroom fixer and properly washing the
paper afterwards preserves the image perfectly.
I plan to keep working on this method, altering the way I fix the paper,
trying different papers and working on larger/more complex imagery.
Images to follow.

Hello,
For one reason or another (me being lazy) it's been
quite a while since I actually posted anything...
But now I have two good reasons to.
Number 1: I have new work
Number 2: I'm involved in an exciting upcoming
project/performance/exhibition taking place in Soho.

Firstly the exhibition.
It is called Come Cut and is a performance/exhibition of
sorts, that gives anyone and everyone the chance to alter a
piece of artwork from an artist (4 or 5 currently) via a carefully,
or not so carefully made cut/incision.
The concept firstly (and most obviously) alludes to the current
funding cuts being made across the arts. However it also tackles
the notion of the perceived aura around a piece of art. Something
that may have taken its creator weeks, if not months, to create.
How will an individual react when given free reign to slice apart a
canvas, photograph or sculpture?
Overall I think it's a pretty unique idea that has both elements of fun
and spontaneity, but also an underlying message. Below is a link with
all the information regarding booking your slot to cut, a Facebook link
to RSVP and directions to the location.
http://comecut.co.uk/

A while back I ordered some water clear casting resin
to try out a few things with.
It took me some time to actually get round to using it,
but I have, and below are the results.
The idea was to cast an object inside two layers of the
resin, as opposed to using it to take a cast of something.

I ended up using a small piece of till roll paper that I had
made a print on to, using enamel paint, a few years ago.
I could definitely turn this into a very interesting series of
works. But for now, because of the price of the resin itself,
thi will remain as just a test until I can afford to buy the resin
in larger quantities....

Below is a link to a seperate facebook artist page
that I recently set up.
While I'm working towards getting my website underway,
it seems like a good idea to have a place to have all of
my current and pass work easily accessable.
Keep an eye out for sporadic updates!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alex-Prior-Art/168631283185963

A quick update of some experiments done with
some new (old) photopaper I got the other day.
The weight applied when pushing my hand and foot
down on the paper has actually left a very fine indent
of the lines of my hand/foot on the paper...
They have faded a bit since taking these scans, but I
think I could use it to map the lines of something on a
larger scale..
Also I need to post some photos of my first clear resin test.
It's turned out better than I thought, and is definately a medium
that I think I could explore much further..

A few more installation shots from the exhibition...