Philip Herbison: The Infinite Shapes of Water

Large abstract photographs of water fill the East Gallery for this solo exhibition.

"This series began in 2010 with a video study of water spilling over a dam near to where I live. The rhythmic beats of the splash had a frequency that reminded me of the shutter movement of a movie camera and so I began experimenting with it and the strobascopic effect that relates to that cycle. Subsequently, I began taking stills with a digital SLR camera and was amazed by how the infinite forms of this falling water captured light and how that light and its contrasting shadows became a playground of aesthetic intrigue for me. The hidden beauty of nature is, for me, a source of continuous discovery and thanks to digital media, we can find it in a wealth of aesthetic treasures.

The three prints entitled "Lake Surfaces" are a continuation of the water series but concentrate on the surface tension forms of standing bodies of water. These photos were taken on Lake Champlain and once again, my intention is to explore an abstract aesthetic while capturing a real visual event in nature. No photoshop effects have been used in this series except for those techniques normally employed in the darkrooms of analog photography." - Philip Herbison