‘The beautiful is something real to the senses, which appears as if it were an idea.’
Steiner
For me, this quote describes my area of work in the sense of mind and spirit in Nature.
Fog explores the Interrelationship with Nature, the sublimity, enigma and sensation of beauty. The quiet space in between where all coexists and blurs. It is part of my long-term series from The Quiet.
In emotional connection to the landscape, Fog’s slowness dissipates the echo in the camera’s transference:
The day was set in February, soft grey, its movement changing. I set out with my dog, driving, walking. I worked from the top of my car on boards that fit on the roof rack – my own theatrical, I have to work fast before it slips away.
The act of moving through a landscape, separate and enclosing, disappearing into a view is part of the process of making the picture. It was cold, surreal and the dog was by my side.
The enlarged gaze of a child, less close to me now, in reflection and older the perception of what a childhood landscape holds.
The line of abstraction – horizon above and below in my subconscious, the aesthetic important to me. My old black box-like camera, the magic at the starting point of the creative process; to prints, poems and books I am working on.
The resulting sequence of images is a visual poem of the feeling held in landscape, memory and emotion. Later I wrote the poem:
The Fog
I remember it being a beautiful grey – the definition muted.
But the grey I remembered quivered blue,
glassy, watery,
The gaze slipped, passed, fell away,
Glanced in one moment felt before.
In shift, I could watch,
Through translucence become part of its blur –
No need for definition.
But it felt the same grey-blue,
glassy, watery,
the grey fell away –
This series was made in one day, shot digitally without a filter. When I processed the files, they were lilac-grey through to ink-blue-black.
Fleur Olby’s photography narrative is in visual poems documenting plants, food, gardens and landscapes. Growing up in rural Yorkshire, instilled a love of Nature, the basis for her work.
The desire to convey the sense of beauty found became the catalyst for photography. Aiming to conserve Nature, portraying the interrelationship and transformative effect.
During her MA in Graphic Design at C.S.M, she began working photographically, graduating with a photography show. Establishing a still life practice in London (1993) she worked for editorial, design and advertising clients, for fifteen years..
Website: fleurolby.com
Twitter: @fleurolby
Instagram: @fleurolby
Facebook: @fleurolby
LinkedIn: @fleurolby
EXHIBITIONS
This series, “FOG,” was exhibited at Noorderlicht’s exhibition in the Netherlands: “The Romantic Landscape,” with five other photographers in Spring this year.
Exhibiting in the 5th Biennial in Barcelona.
Exhibiting in the Shutter Hub Open, part of Photomonth East London.
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Fleur Olby
