Statement

I’ll keep this short and humane. And maybe even interesting.

There are three things I would like to tell you:

One. I do not use generative artificial intelligence in the creation of my images. Instead, I go out into the world with a camera. When did “artificial” stop being a dirty word? For a full explanation, perhaps justification, read my statement on AI imaging here.

Two. The problem with art is that no-one seems to be able to agree on what exactly it is. Defining it is as fraught as trying to wrestle a freshly-caught octopus into a carrier bag, on a slippery deck, during a heavy storm. It’s doomed to failure and sure to provoke a few cross words in the process. 

Nevertheless, for anyone, like me, wanting to help others to think about art and how to make it, some attempt has to be made to show the octopus who’s boss. And that’s not easy because “art” is whatever someone wants to call “art”. Which is annoying. Nevertheless, we can separate, shall we say, “empty” art from “substantial” art. 

Empty art shouts, “Hey everyone, look at ME!” Its main object is to impress, to be crowd-pleasing. But there is little sign of the artist or her ideas in it. Other art, though, engages you in a way that leaves you changed somehow. Like junk food, empty, attention- seeking art doesn’t satisfy. You just feel a little nauseous after you’ve seen too much of it. Nourishing art, in contrast, sustains the viewer and stimulates reflection and imagination. And that’s why I want to put a square meal in front of you.

Three. A lot of my photography over the years has been done to satisfy clients. It certainly isn’t art. Other work looks like art because of the way it has been executed. But without a context, it’s just decoration. The more substantial stuff, when it comes down to it, tends to coalesce around one recurring theme: singularity. It’s all about the individuality of things. You see it in my field studio images where the subject is treated as a character rather than a member of a species or “type”. And again in Chocolate Bars that present diversity where people assume uniformity. It’s in Deconstructed Landscapes that shift the emphasis from the appearance of the landscape to the elements that comprise it. And it’s in my Colour Transects where the colours that comprise the image are drawn out and presented separately.

This approach reflects my loathing of the slovenly-thinking that tends to aggregate and judge collectively rather than acknowledge endless individuality. It's a dangerous, reductive way to regard the world and we don't need to look far in the political arena to see the consequences of labels. But if you want to put a label on me, “Anti-Aggregationist” would be a good fit. Just don’t expect your spell-checker to recognise it.

Niall Benvie, Les Saumais, February 2024.