Gerard McNeil

Artist Statement

The medium of photography is more often than not a medium of the found image. There is also a long history of manipulating and transforming photographic images. I find myself straddling the fence between these two practices as the photographs and photo - based works I create are derived through a kind of dialogue between the found and the constructed. As my primary subject matter is the urban landscape, these landscapes hide and reveal themselves. I can walk down the street one - day and see nothing. I walk down the same street the next day and ten plus images emerge. Some of these images will remain unchanged or un-manipulated, while other images will be transformed, either digitally or physically, into the constructed images. How I determine which photograph will be manipulated and which photograph will remain unchanged is very much an intuitive thing.

Biography

For more than three decades I have been engaged in a practice as a fine art photographer. This practice has been both interrupted and informed by my formal studies (M.Ed. in Adult Education, B.Ed. – Visual Arts Specialist; BFA in Fine Arts). My practice and the creative processes I utilize to create photographic and photo - based images has also become inextricably linked with my work, as an educator and community arts facilitator.