Joel Biddle is a photographic artist working in Kent in the United Kingdom, recently graduated in photography at the Arts University of Bournemouth.
His work is an exploration of the contrast between the still and the fluid, the harsh texture of geological structures, and the glassy smooth of the surface of the sea. His work follows the research for a calming sense of tranquillity and a sense of quietness that reflects the locations in his works. These fractures of time transport the viewer to an unknown, with an absence of context being important. A sense of isolation is established, but it isn’t a bleak isolation, it’s more of a break from the chaos, a choice rather than something forced.
About ‘Peripheral’ – words by Joel Biddle:
My latest work is about attempting to create something sacred. The romantic ideal, like something unobtainable and timeless, is what I find difficult to avoid in my photography. At the same time, it is something I can find only when I avoid any colour in my work. Using monochrome seems to allow me to see clearly and focus on composition.
At first glance, the work appears to focus on the coast and sea stacks as a subject, but this was something that came about naturally rather than being the intention from the beginning. There’s a graphic quality created by playing with something with harsh edges and high contrast whilst being surrounded by a plain of smooth water. The graphic quality, the use of monochrome, and the choice of the subject all combined together produce a work that is basic and complicated simultaneously. The biggest difficulty found while producing this work has been ruthlessly discarding so many photographs that miss the target of the project by millimeters. A small change in the weather could be enough to warrant removal. Repeated visits to the same location have been a necessity to produce a cohesive series.
I try to capture something ethereal and timeless, while reducing the context, sometimes to the extent that even the scale becomes unclear. These concepts seem to instill a sense of tranquillity and calmness, maybe because the compositions are clear of clutter so as result, the mind becomes clear.
