Critically acclaimed for his complex constructed photographs, Calum Colvin RSA is known for creating three-dimensional stage sets involving household objects which are overpainted with subjects that relate to art history, popular culture, literature and mythology.
Colvin’s constructed photographic artworks begin as large-scale studio ‘stage-sets’: tableaux of everyday objects, furniture and bric-a-brac carefully posed and theatrically lit. Viewed from the fixed-point perspective of a large-format camera, painted trompe-l’oeil elements are introduced, integrating object and subject in a complex mise en scène. These are finally photographed on film, digitized and printed onto paper or canvas.
These visual illusions and allegories are intended to draw the viewer into a creative dialogue as the images are interpreted, touching on contemporary concerns relating to society, the environment and aspects of national identity.
