Contact
Contact: info@melaniestidolph.com
Statement
I am interested in images that seem almost clichéd in their representation of nature and our relationship to it. My pictures show sunlit white horses, impossibly still rabbits in the undergrowth, and trees that appear to have human faces. I’m working with the idea that some representations now seem redundant and am looking to produce pictures that create a balance between genuine engagement and suspicion. At the root of these photographs there is a suggestion of a sincere human connection to the subject to ignite the process.
Recent work 'The Hole' is one of a number of images that highlight the shadow or negative space in the image as being potentially more evocative than the subject itself. One of a body of works exploring pareidolia, 'The Hole' conjures the image of a rabbit from a cave's shadow as other works show The Green Man or anthropomorphic structures manifested from natural forms.
I've recently been investigating a way of working that introduces an element of detachment over when the picture is taken; prioritising external action over interior thought to fire the shutter. 'Trigger' and 'Windfall' use infra red devices to harness the movement of animals and other stimulus to trigger the shutter. This detaches a reading of the image from the suggestion of the photographer's emotive or intellectual connection to the scene in front of the camera, and alludes instead to the role of independent activity in recording the moment.
Education
| 1994-1996 | Master of Fine Art, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada - Personal tutor, Jeff Wall |
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| 1987-1991 | First Class BA (Hons) Fine Art, The University of Leeds |
Solo Exhibitions
| Forthcoming | Campbell Works, London |
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| 2007 | Melanie Stidolph, Keith Talent Gallery, London |
| 2006 | Online exhibition, Fotonet, www.fotonet.org.uk |
| 2005 | Melanie Stidolph, Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sunderland |
| 2004 | Interior Life, Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sunderland |
| 2001 | Common, Fremantle, London |
| 1997 | Shallows, Kamloops Art Gallery, Canada |
Group Exhibitions
| 2012 | Photo-Soup, London |
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| 2011 | Notebook 4, The Studio, London |
| 2010 | Psychometry, Core Gallery, London |
| 2009 | Notebook, The Studio, Photomonth, London |
| 2008 | Call Back, The Exchange, Penzance |
| 2007 | Pulse Art Fair, Miami |
| 2006 | YearO6 Art Fair, London |
| 2005 | Aqua Art Miami, Florida |
| 2004 | The Shandy Show, The Shandy Foundation, London |
| 2003 | Scrambled, MOT, London |
| 2002 | Worthy Subjects: Photographs from the Kamloops Art Gallery Permanent Collection, Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, Canada |
| 1999 | Lapsus, Five Years, London, curated by John Roberts |
| 1998 | Home Base, Kamloops Art Gallery, Canada |
| 1997 | Browser, Roundhouse, Vancouver, Canada |
| 1996 | Benefit Art Auction, Artspeak Gallery, Vancouver, Canada |
Press
| 2010 | ‘The Anachronistic Album’, The Times, March 2010 |
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| 2008 | ‘Art Trail 2008’ www.a-n.co.uk |
| 2007 | ‘Melanie Stidolph’, The Art Newspaper, Frieze Art Fair, 12 Oct |
| 2006 | ‘2006 Critics Picks’, www.akimbo.biz |
| 2005 | ‘When I Lived in Modern Times’, www.talesofnewcastle.net |
| 2004 | ‘Lilith’, The Guardian, The Guide |
Publications
| 2009 | ‘The Russell Herron Collection’, Sartorial Contemporary Art, exhibition publication |
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| 2008 | Pass the Picture, Goethe-Institut, Malaysia, exhibition catalogue |
| 2007 | /seconds, issue 7, www.slashseconds.org |
| 2005 | Miser & Now, issue 7 |
Collections
The Shandy Foundation |
Commissions
| 2012 | Open Studio, Tate Modern |
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| 2011 | The World in London, The Photographers’ Gallery, London |
| 2007 | Arts Trail, The Big Chill, curated by Alice Sharp |
Awards
| 2007 | Nominated for ArtSway Production Residency |
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| 2006 | Nominated for PLAT(T)FORM 07, Zurich |
| 2004 | Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England, London |
| 1994 | Study Abroad Studentship, The Leverhulme Trust |