Photographic trickery, trompe l’oeil effects and visual illusions feature in intriguing mixed media works.
Ian’s work over the past decade has grown out of an interest in spatial ambiguities, optical distortions, double images, trompe l’oeil effects and all sorts of visual trickery. Earlier photographic collages were based on the vase-head motif, or images of strange rocks, suggestive of human heads. More recently, photographs of buoys, beaches or bridges are often rotated or inverted, resulting in more abstract images. Many of these works feature photographic images and actual objects, creating a dialogue between pictorial space and real space, illusion and reality. Other works use optical devices, such as mirrors and magnifying glasses, to reflect and distort objects, text or images. In a series of playful photographic collages, painted and unpainted copper discs mimic circles painted on a wall, or float across the picture. The intention with all these works is to engage the spectator in the process of looking.
