Photography Down The Line with Alan Eglinton (recorded: 22 September 2020)

Photography Down The Line

Ben Harman, Director of Stills: Centre for Photography in Edinburgh, speaks to Alan Eglinton.

British visual artist Alan Eglinton tells his own story through his cross-disciplinary projects. His emigration to France at an early age, his wedding proposal to his South Korean partner or his working process are a few examples. His photographs and texts are very often of a poetic nature. However, he knows the risks of sentimental effusion and adds a pinch of sarcasm or self-mockery when he sees fit.
Starting from Super Limousin, an early schoolbook in which he learnt French through the juxtaposition of words and cut-out catalogue photos, the interplay of both mediums runs throughout his practice. He explores the way photographs and words may amplify and expand each other, create graphic shifts in a sequence and, ideally, contribute to an active reading of the work. When taking photos, he responds spontaneously to scenes or states of lighting amidst the flow of the everyday. A strange gravity may lie behind pictures of an apparent serenity. Alan is drawn to the photobook, one of the central mediums of his creative output. He is currently exploring its narrative possibilities by means of his collaboration with international publishers and through the workshops he runs, in the particular the Edinburgh and Glasgow photobook clubs.

www.alaneglinton.com

Instagram:

@alan_eglinton

@edinburghphotobookclub

@glasgowphotobookclub