Will Arden
Will Arden is a self-taught, UK-based artist whose creative career has spanned illustration, writing, painting and photography. Best known as the children's author and illustrator 'Alborozo', he has also worked as an archaeological illustrator, a cartoonist for publications including Private Eye and Punch, and is an accomplished natural history painter. His diverse artistic career has now spanned more than thirty years.
Four years ago, after losing significant sight in his right eye, his work came to an abrupt standstill. Determined to continue creating, he turned to the camera, not simply as a tool for recording images, but as a canvas on which to construct them. In photography he discovered an entirely new visual language and a dark, compelling world that continues to inspire his work today.
Methodology
My images are created using a combination of long, multiple exposures, sometimes lasting up to twenty minutes and comprising as many as nine separate exposures; together with the technique of 'light painting'.
During each exposure, I selectively illuminate different surfaces, at different angles for carefully controlled periods, often using coloured filters to shape both the light and the atmosphere of the image.
I strive to create as much of the final work in camera as possible, rather than relying on digital post-processing. In many ways, I see my practice as a fusion of sculpture and painting, whereby the camera is simply the canvas on which I work.
