Michael Kenna first began photographing the Ratcliffe power station in the early 1980s, and over the past several years he has visited the site many times, producing a body of work as ominous as it is beautiful. The Ratcliffe photographs take on the tonal quality of a partially lit ecosphere unique to the photographer and his subject. A brilliant manipulator of half-light, Kenna's grainy, spatial topography epitomizes the gray skies of Northern England that were the ubiquitous backdrop to his childhood. Kenna's Ratcliffe photographs create the impression of an atmospherically foggy day, registering the homeostasis of a mood that is a dominant characteristic of his work. Beautifully printed in duotone on matt art paper, Ratcliffe Power Station is published in a first edition of 3,000 copies. Introduction by Jeremy Reed.
For over thirty five years, British born Michael Kenna has been looking at landscapes in ways quite out of the ordinary. His mysterious photographs, often made at dawn or in the dark hours of night, concentrate primarily on the interaction between the ephemeral atmospheric conditions of the natural landscape, and human-made structures and sculptural mass. Kenna is both a diurnal and nocturnal photographer, fascinated by times of day when light is at its most pliant. Using non digital equipment, his night time exposures can last up to ten hours, and his photographs often record details that the human eye is not able to perceive.
Kenna's intimate, exquisitely hand crafted black and white photographic prints reflect a sense of refinement, respect for history, and thorough originality. They have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums throughout the world and are included in such permanent collections as The National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; The Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; The Shanghai Art Museum; and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Over forty books and catalogs have been published on Kenna's work.
Website: www.michaelkenna.com
