Religious Shadows: Underwater Photography in Caravaggio's Vein

view the complete ‘Rastvoyrennaya Pechal’ licensing collection here…

This underwater figurative series was created at the ‘Red October’ Studio, Moscow. The works were created especially for a landmark exhibition at the Triumph Gallery, Moscow in April 2014. Only two other British artists had ever been invited to host solo exhibitions at the gallery before, namely Damien Hirst & The Chapman Brothers.
 

At the time the artist decided to relocate his entire studio to an important but long abandoned building and converted it into his underwater studio. ‘Einem One’ was the first building back in 1851 where sweets were made at the famous Krasny Oktyabr, Balchug Island chocolate factory in the very centre of Moscow. The same factory 100 years later created the ‘Alenka’ one of Russias most famous confectionary brands. An entire underground floor space was converted from a state of abandonment and restored to life as the artists working studio space, the vast area was then flooded with black water and a grand piano installed in the centre. 

It was unusual for the artist to choose to relocate and make the artworks for the exhibition entirely from within Russia, using local fabrics, processes and models rather than making the works from a familiar surrounding and ship the artworks in as so many artists had done before. 

This was a commitment on a vast scale, choosing to drive alone to Russia in a small truck and to live underground through a very harsh winter with no heating, toilet or running water that was in itself a fundamental element in the project. For 6 months the artist lived and worked tirelessly in the space, working against many profound obstacles, rarely leaving the studio and sleeping only when possible on nothing more than a few bails of hay. The studio birthplace of ‘Dissolved Sadness’ is now firmly etched into the cultural landscape of Moscow. Only metres from the Kremlin and the white marble Church Of Christ The Saviour, the Red October is now famous as an arts hub moving away from its confectionary & recent clubbing for the elite history, it is forever changed in no small part by this project.

A fly on the wall 40 minute TV documentary about the project ‘immersed In Moscow’ was filmed by Russian Television, aired nationally and syndicated globally. 

 

Andrei Tolstoy (1956-2016). Professor of Arts, Russian Academy of Arts & President AICA Russia, May 2014. wrote… 
‘ Artist Alexander James Hamilton creates meticulously crafted sculptural scenes; using studio made props, breeding butterflies, growing period specific flowers, hand making the dress and 24 carat gold halo for his Ophelia in 'Witness', 2012 from 'A beautiful announcement of death'; endeavors that imbue a harmonious dialogue with his subject that is ultimately to be encased within a vast underwater landscape. He does this solely for one purpose, that of documenting the realisation on a single 8 * 10 inch analogue camera plate.
 

These photographic plates are the only existing record of a far bigger conceptual process that is produced through his complete dedication to a renaissance studio practice. Perhaps in an effort to exercise a form of control; to relive its tragic baroque beauty. To preserve its memory, from ever being able to fade away.

The introduction of water serves its purpose both symbolically and as the functional device through which to achieve the painterly execution of these works; with the interaction of brushes and the artists bare hands on the surface tension of the water, literally painting the subject in light; the results of which are aching with the dramatic radiance of Caravaggio.

Working with analogue camera equipment and without post production, his life long dedication to in-camera purity establishes it's provenance when linked to painstaking preparatory work. '

 

The images presented here on the Underwater Image Library are low resolution to serve the web, however they were all produced on analogue film and presented ‘as shot’, without the use of post production, The originals film plates are incredibly rich and detailed, each shot on either 6 x 6cm or 5 x 4inch transparency film, scanned at high resolution with industry standard colour profiling applied.

You can view the ‘Rastvoyrennaya Pechal’ (Dissolved Sadness) exhibition here on the artists gallery page. 

The 10 year anniversary catalogue is available to view here.