Elliott Wilcox, Real Tennis 08, 2009, archival inkjet print,
30 x 40 inches
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
Elliott Wilcox
If you look carefully, art is all around us. It's in our museums, but it's also in a window reflection, a pile of trash, or a sports court in England. Elliott Wilcox shares the art of his world in the new series, Courts. The images could stand strong along side any mid-century minimalist painting, and the fact that it is found art makes it even more appealing. The vivid colors, minimal shapes, and on target cropping make for a very strong series.
Elliott is a London based, British photographer who is currently studying at the University of Westminster, MA Photographic Studies. He graduated from the University of Wales, Newport with a BA in Photographic Art in 2008. He has been the recipient of several awards including a Judges Award at the Nikon Discovery Awards and a New York Photo Award in 2009. Elliott recently won a Lucie Award for the Discovery of the Year at the International Photography Awards. His work was part of the recent show ‘PRUNE – Abstracting Reality’ at FOAM Gallery Amsterdam guest curator Kathy Ryan, editor of the New York Times Magazine and was featured in the Magenta Foundation’s publication on the future of photography, focusing on emerging talent, Flash Forward - Emerging Photographers 2009, the New York Photography Festival and in the New York Photo Awards Annual 2009. Elliott is also featured in FOAM magazine’s Talent issue and FOAM Gallery’s 2010 Annual. Needless to say, the art and photography world have decided that they too, see art in his work. Look for two upcoming solo shows, at Fauna Galeria, November 2010 in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the other at dnj Gallery, May 2011 in Los Angeles.
Artist Statement:
This work examines representations of the enclosed spaces of sports courts. In photographing the empty courts, absent of the fast paced action we are so familiar with, these environments reveal themselves in a new light.The camera shows details that the viewer can see closely, revealing many subtleties that usually go unnoticed. The vivid stains, ball marks, blood and scratches force the viewer to focus on these details rather than just the court.
The courts have one single use – a ball game, with all their complicated rules and regulations. These normally sub conscious spaces become alive. Much like a gallery space is missed to the artwork, the space of these courts is missed to the sport. These large format images are slow and deliberate. The non-judgemental image creates an experience to explore, a path to revealing the unnoticed and exposing the unexposed, consequently romanticising the courts.
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