Alan GillottHugo Platt is one of a dying breed of photographers and he is coming to York from the 13th of January to the 4th of February at Bar Lane Studios at the top of Micklegate. A dying breed because Hugo is one of the few photographers who still uses negatives, and moreover, processes and prints them himself.
This exhibition, Landscapes and Nudes, will be well worth a visit and few will leave without the intention to return. Hugo uses a large format camera which creates a negative which measures 10” by 8” which in turn allows the printer to create images of stunning clarity.
Hugo is from a very talented York family, his parents, Russell and Margaret trained at the Royal London College of Art, his brother Theo brother is an acclaimed portraitist and a further brother and sister, Jonathan and Kate are also working artists living in London.
Clearly the ‘eye’ is ingrained in this family and it is apparent from the available samples of Hugo’s work that he has the magic touch with images. Working with black and white is no mean feat: being able to assess a scene and translate it into black and white contrasts is a rare skill and with Hugo’s 6 foot camera which uses film worth a king’s ransom, you do not snap away hoping that one or two will turn out alright.
Not only does Hugo have to assess the scene; he has to predict what it will look like in 10 or fifteen or more minutes hence; and be prepared to put it all away without a picture as nature sweeps the image away before he has time to capture it.
Hugo’s art is an art of patience. The patience to wait for the ideal image to possibly reappear, the patience to wait for ideal weather conditions, the patience to put it all away when the sun fails to materialise, and the patience to work for hours in the dark room to get the print exactly right.
Hugo Platt’s landscape images are incredible, capturing not only the predictable drama of the landscape but the less predictable and ephemeral drama of the sky, or even sea, combining them into arresting images that the viewer will struggle to look away from.
Why Landscapes and Nudes? In many ways photographing the nude form is about capturing the same curves and parallels that are found in nature, the advantage to the photographer is that there is the luxury of being able to adjust the subject and the lighting. And like landscapes, the best nude photography also documents the relationship between the subject and the camera; and by inference, the eye behind the camera. Hugo is clearly as comfortable working on a wind blasted hillside with a skittish vista as he is in an unfamiliar studio with a skittish subject.
Anyone who graduated from the York College of Art and Technology, and who was taught by Margaret Platt is obliged to come and see what her talented son is able to do. This exhibition is a tribute to yet another talented child of York and it is marvellous to see the Bar Lane Studios stepping up to the plate to show what can be achieved by nurturing one’s talent.
Landscape and Nudes
Bar Lane Studios
1 Bar Lane (on the corner of Micklegate and Bar Lane right by the Micklegate Bar leading to Blossom Street)
13th January – 4th February
Open Monday to Saturday though opening times can vary.
