UNIVERSAL ARRANGEMENTS

ALEX RUTHERFORD

// Alex is a British photographer and textile designer. Her photography is influenced by the design skills she acquired decades ago, having given her a knack for seeing details, colours and compositions from a unique point of view. We are pleased to feature a set from her series “Universal Arrangements”.

Born in born in Merseyside, United Kingdom, Alex studied for a degree in Constructed Textile Design at Hornsey College of Art in London. Her photography then was used to record ideas and inspiration for her designs. “At that stage we still had to develop rolls of film in a darkroom! Roll on a couple of decades and along came digital photography which opened up a whole new world of opportunities. I love bringing my textile eye into photography, it enables me to see detail, colour and composition from a different viewpoint,” she says.

What draws you to the arts?

“I lose myself in the creative world, whether this is through going to exhibitions ( recently Brigitte Riley, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp) or wandering around the V&A, or visiting the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey and then watching the glass blowing in the studio opposite. I normally come away feeling very positive that even in the most difficult of times people can still find their creative vibe.”

What do you like best about photo art such as the images you have shared with us?

“The shapes “absorb” the colours of one another as they cross, creating interesting variations and gradations of hues whilst the “movement” gives an almost three dimensional effect to the images.“

Alex´s Foundation Art course allowed her to experiment in all aspects of art and design and at the time her photography was used to collect reference and inspiration. Now her photo art has become an end in itself. Her style is “textured modern abstract”, harking back to her days as textile designer. Intentional camera movement (ICM) can adding a further textural dimension to images. Most of her images are created in camera, with the addition of Lightroom editing.

This series is called Universal Arrangements. Using ICM and multiple exposure, Alex experimented with varying slow shutter speeds, lighting, colours and shapes to create overlapping circular shapes that clash and move around one another in suspension.

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Click on the photos to see a larger image with its title.

ALL IMAGES © ALEX RUTHERFORD

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Alexandra´s photo art is also being featured in our friend magazine, The Pictorial-List, where you can read an interview with her. To see more of her photography visit Alex´s Instagram page .