Not currently on display at the V&A

Becoming Magma 2, 2004

Photograph
2004 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Fabian Miller is know for his 'camera-less' photographs. The artist works in the darkroom, shinning, shining light through coloured glass vessels and over cut-paper shapes to create forms that record directly onto photographic paper. These rudimentary methods recall the earliest days of photography, when the effects of light on sensitised paper seemed magical.
Across languages and cultures, the earliest colour categories are believed to have been those of light and dark, followed almost universally by a term for red. Fabian Miller's images therefore suggest primal experience and a definition of colour and shape that can be understood on several levels. The titles Becoming Magma and From the Red Pool refer to molten rock beneath the earth's surface. The horizontal images conjure a prehistoric landscape. The circular pieces evoke a planetary or cosmic form, perhaps the Zen enso, or circles of enlightenment - a symbol of the cycle of life.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleBecoming Magma 2, 2004 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Water, light, dye destruction print, abstract camera less photograph
Brief description
Photograph, 'Becoming Magma 2, 2004', abstract camera-less photograph, dye destruction print, by Garry Fabian Miller, 2004.
Physical description
Four dye destruction photographs mounted as one image in purpose made frame with red circle in the middle.
Gallery label
Garry Fabian Miller has made exclusively 'camera-less' photographs since the mid 1980s. He works in the darkroom, shining light through coloured glass vessels and over cut-paper shapes to create forms that record directly onto photographic paper. His images suggest primal experience and a definition of colour and shape that can be understood on several levels. The title Becoming Magma refers to molten rock beneath the earth's surface. The circular shape evokes a planetary or cosmic form, or perhaps the Zen enso, or circle of enlightenment - a symbol of the cycle of life.(2008-2009)
Credit line
Purchased through the Cecil Beaton Royalties Fund
Production
His works are made in the artist's darkroom
Summary
Fabian Miller is know for his 'camera-less' photographs. The artist works in the darkroom, shinning, shining light through coloured glass vessels and over cut-paper shapes to create forms that record directly onto photographic paper. These rudimentary methods recall the earliest days of photography, when the effects of light on sensitised paper seemed magical.
Across languages and cultures, the earliest colour categories are believed to have been those of light and dark, followed almost universally by a term for red. Fabian Miller's images therefore suggest primal experience and a definition of colour and shape that can be understood on several levels. The titles Becoming Magma and From the Red Pool refer to molten rock beneath the earth's surface. The horizontal images conjure a prehistoric landscape. The circular pieces evoke a planetary or cosmic form, perhaps the Zen enso, or circles of enlightenment - a symbol of the cycle of life.
Collection
Accession number
E.367-2005

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Record createdFebruary 7, 2007
Record URL
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