My photomontage work consists of a spectrum of single images stacked to create a larger whole. By building up the individual photos on layers of foamcore, I create an image that has as much to do with sculpture as with photography. It is still photography with aspects of time, motion and depth to it.
These techniques of shooting, cutting and mounting are used to achieve the following: To vary focus and exposure within the scene; to force elements to the foreground that would otherwise remain background incidentals; to juxtapose different moments of time in the same space; to manipulate spatial and temporal perspectives; and to create a fractal image area that can contain more than 100% of the original image in space and time.
I think these techniques create an intrinsically more interesting object than a flat rectangle in a frame. The three dimensional aspect allows each photosculpture to be highly individual, not easily subject to endless reproduction. Composition becomes as much a function of postproduction as the original shoot. Mainly, though, it?s just more fun to hang one of these on a wall than another flat 8x10 colored glossy print.
Mark Lowrie is a photographer and film editor who has been developing new styles of photographic montage for over ten years. The three dimensional and sculptural aspects of his work are uniquely his own.
Influences include David Hockney, NASA Planetary photomosaics, Eadweard Muybridge, the GAF Stereo Viewmaster, Benoit Mandelbrot, the National Park System, Joseph Sanchez, Ed Abbey and Simon Gittins. |
