Quinton Gordon is a photographer and book-artist based on the unceded, ancestral territories of the Lekwungen (/lək̓ʷəŋən/) People, known today as Vancouver Island.
As a fine-art documentary photographer whose work primarily investigates the complex interplay between place, memory, and identity through our relationship with the contemporary environment the landscape, often marked with the imprint of direct human intervention, Quinton’s work invites the viewer to reconsider their own relationship to the natural and built environments that surround them. Through his work, Quinton seeks to capture the visual impact of these landscapes in a way that are compelling and authentic producing images that are aesthetically striking and conceptually nuanced.
In 2012 he published his first monograph, Mile Zero : A Place Uncertain, followed by DUSK, EDGE and PRESENCE. He continues to work in book and exhibition form with an emphasis on handmade artist-books for many of his projects. His limited edition and unique prints and artist books are held internationally in both public and private collections.
About PRESENCE
Over a period of two years, my project PRESENCE, explored a deepening connection to the landscape where I live on the unceded, ancestral territories of the Lekwungen (lək̓ʷəŋən) People, known today as Vancouver Island. For this project I worked slowly, using a whole plate (6.5×8.5 inch) large format camera, a lens from the 19th Century and paper negatives made on old, silver rich photographic paper.
In October last year I released the work as a limited edition, hand printed, and bound artist book produced with four different washi papers made by the Awagami Factory in Japan. Each paper was selected for a specific component of the book in relation to how I wanted the images to translate into a tactile book form. The result is a truly haptic experience for the reader that goes someway to immersing them in the process I had of connecting with the forest through a slower contemplative way of image making.
Artist book: PRESENCE
About SOLACE
Inspired by the Japanese concept of Kormorebi, which connotes a contentment with oneself and with nature, I’m working on my next project, entitled SOLACE. It’s still in the exploration phase, working to determine its ultimate direction and understanding the materials and process that I want to commit to for this work.
In an effort to lighten the load that I have to carry deeper into the woods or along remote coastlines, while retaining the image resolution needed, I have been experimenting with the multi-shot functions of the Leica SL2, and in some cases stitching together several frames made in the multi-shot mode, creating a very large file with a panoramic aspect ratio. Early on I was also exploring colour for this work, but I find myself returning to working with deeply toned black and white images to carry the feel I want from these images.
The dynamic range of the sensor is critical as I’m crushing the higher value tones in postproduction but need to retain critical acutance when making large (30×40 inch) prints on Kozo (mulberry) paper from Awagami. I love the organic characteristics of this paper, but it can be challenging for the paper to handle the volume of ink required to reproduce the heavy blacks of these moody images.
Generally, the multi-shot function is not recommended for moving subjects, however I find that using it in this way, making images in the constant motion of natural environments, has added another subtle but surreal quality to the results, although it’s not always ideal and I need to experiment with higher resolution sensors as I go forward.
Join the Leica Akademie workshop
Leica Store San Francisco is excited to have fine art photographer and educator Quinton Gordon back to San Francisco for an unexpected, revealing and inspirational, exploration of personal vision in your work that sets aside our conventional expectations around image making.
