Deconstructing media
To explore the intricacies of political and media power is almost like do it in the guts of human beings. Rachel Ridge is a photographer dedicated to experimenting with visual formats and exploration of media. Member of the emerging art collective Forum 01 in London, focused on young artists, presents her series Channel Zero of cross processed long exposures on the Egypt riots in February 2011. Her study crosses to bare the information bias always full of political and economic interests, unfortunately our daily bread. Rachel Ridge proposes an art of brave pulse and full of talented details. Art as a multifaceted mirror of reality.
You are presenting your current work “Channel Zero” about politics and mass media. What’s the concept behind the project?
I wanted to play with TV footage, images which are presented to us as ‘reality’. I was trying to explore the presence of myth in mass information resources and was particularly interested in looking at the mythical nature of mass media representation. I used imagery of the Tahrir square riots in Egypt as it was such a sensationalist story, with a new chapter/development everyday presented to us in a simillar structure of a thrilling sitcom or TV mini series. Imagery of violent riots, tear gas and screaming civilians where posted daily and I got to thinking about how we are shown these recycled images of ‘disasters of war’ with a lack any in depth information as to why their happening, was anyone thinking about Mubarak and why he had caused such hatred from his people? Or even the larger picture of the nature of the middle east political system, It seems these images breed a one dimensional response not dissimilar to how we receive images of stock film genres -horror, romance, thriller etc. I felt the structure these issues are presented in breeds apathy and passive reactions from the viewer so I wanted to use the TV imagery of this and completely change its language, turning images of reality/documentary into something abstract. Also through the long exposures of the screen, features of the subjects faces became hollow and absent. I felt this represented the futile plight of the TV ‘reality’ image.
“Channel Zero” gives a new light to the recent political news and its treatment on TV around the world. Do you think we all are too passive?
That’s an interesting question. Well when making the work that was in my mind a lot, I was thinking about the way culture is structured and organised, on channels we see images of war and disaster in between sitcoms and dramas. I feel this does place the images of war in the same psychological context as entertainment. But I also feel that we don’t know what we don’t know and important information is suppressed a lot and if not can be presented in such a way that breeds apathy. I watched a Channel 4 documentary a few weeks ago by Jon Snow, ‘Killing Fields’, about the war crimes committed from the Sri Lankan government upon the Tamil Tigers. It mixed probably the most shocking images of war I’ve ever seen with in depth exploration with hopes to bringing the committer of war crimes to justice and revealing the complete negligence of the UN who pretty much sat by and let it happen. I feel this documentary and documentaries like this are vital and should be a more common format to how we receive these kinds of images. In the 60’s Vietnam war, when the first ever televised images of war surfaced, it caused outrage from viewers shocked by something they had never seen. Perhaps the bar needs to be lifted and people need to see the horror of war without censorship in order to cause reaction. I really not sure to be honest.
What kind of techniques have you used on the creative process?
I took 4-5 second long exposures from internet news posted up from camera phones onto Youtube. I used transparency film then cross processed it to create the hyper colours, I have no interest in picture perfect representations of what you can already see, I wanted these images to have a transformative element where your playing with conventional ways of approaching the photographic and showing something that can’t be seen but can hopefully be visually understood.
What do you think about the presence of artistic creation on mass media?
It’s interesting when art can comment on contemporary culture in some way. Artists have always commented on mass media but I feel there’s a shift now where artists are looking more at the technology of media, glitch and all these crazy leaps forward that are exciting and scary at the same time. It’s a strange contradiction new technologies and forms of media are breeding more freedom but also more control over us simultaneously and that’s interesting to explore in art.
Do you think art is seen as something dangerous?
I think a lot of people naturally see photographs as reality/ a document which I suppose can be dangerous, as photographs these days can deceive more than any other medium. In fact, photographs are becoming quite key in creating illusion and fantasy under the guise of reality in our contemporary mass culture.
Why did you begin in photography?
It was something that came quite intuitively, when I was younger I’d find cheap cameras round the house with no film in, I’d click the button and take imaginary pictures. I like the idea of choosing what to view, documenting memory or thought even if it didn’t exist in reality.
You are editor of the Octagon online magazine in which we can read some of your interviews to, for example, the photographer Alexander Binder. What’s the philosophy of Octagon?
It’s my blog at the moment, interviews I’ve done mixed with my own work and projects but I will soon evolve this into an online magazine, which I will do with my boyfriend.
Our plan is to set up an online magazine covering Art, Film, Music, Articles and online exhibitions. I want to give talented people a space to show and be free to express themselves and their work the way they want to. It’s about gathering interesting exciting things onto one platform regardless of name, prestige etc. There will be online exhibitions monthly shown from upcoming artists regarding a theme or idea and as my boyfriend’s background is filming, animation and live music events we will set up some Octagon events round London, which will be an exciting mix of music, art, film screenings and performance!
Are you working on new projects?
Yes I’m working on a book with 5 photographers, looking at moving away from theoretical/ critical ideas of creative practise. We all had a separate tarot reading and created a body of work from how we each intuitively interpreted our readings. That will be published in October by a new very exciting company Tulizendat, and you can check out some of the work go on to www.thefortuneproject.com.
Give me a picture of your dreamed future.
If this was possible = www.thevenusproject.com
Interview by Juan Carlos Romero
Art pieces by Rachel Ridge