Linda Chapman's photography is drawn to abstract and geometric patterns as well as to shadow and light. Her attraction to natural light plays with the formation of patterns that brings them together to catch a perfect picture of geometric abstraction. After pursuing a successful commercial career Chapman shifted her practice to fine art photography.
Her works usually begin when scouting urban areas, discovering unseen details that highlight the character of its settings. "My preferred technique is with reflections, giving a perfect abstract view of light. Here, everything happens, light being its most expressive self. Everything within a reflection is real but challenges the viewer to see it all in a very different way, several stories happening all within one image.
"Perception is a wonderful thing but not everything is as it seems and that is what I try to show in my work, to look again and discover!"
Abstract and geometric patterns play a key role in her works. Is it a proactive intent although she does have a natural attraction to geometric designs, their order and simplicity. Her talent and experienced eye powers her capability to differentiate between parts as she patiently waits until she captures just the right light on it. "If I am really lucky it may even be within a reflection."
Most of the time Chapman's whole creative life is around photographic images. However sometimes she creates Dioramas driven by a need to express some idea in her head or something she has seen, like the scene within a reflection, in 3D. "I think this comes from when I was a child and was always making and building things. I love the fact that if its in miniature, I have the space to create a whole little world that only I have imagined."
Chapman's commercial work contributed a lot technically, giving her a lot of experience working with light. However in her current works, she tends to keep that in the past. "Before I found that it was all about controlling and restricting the light. What I want to see now and what is a big part of my process is the joy of watching the light play with things, change colours, create dancing shadows and illuminate things that couldn’t be seen. Compared to how I worked commercially, I feel I have now set that light free and given it its own life again."
Based in London, Chapman is clear on the advantages the city has to offer to her artistic practice. "I love living in the city and London is great for my work, full of interesting urban areas. We are very lucky as I believe we have a very big art scene here. So many new galleries and exhibition spaces have sprung up all over, giving a lot of opportunities. The interesting thing is how many places showing art are just converted from something else or just pop ups. It gives so many more people a chance to see and be seen, with a huge variety of work and techniques."
Currently Chapman is working on a project focusing on one particular area of the city that is undergoing regeneration and is constantly changing, so there is a lot of opportunities to explore. Her schedule also includes a few exhibitions and art fairs coming up in the new year and a new project that she will be exploring after that.
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