Goldsmiths - University of London

Professor Yve Lomax

A longstanding research concern has been that of including writing within the repertoire of visual art and placing emphasis on writing as a practice not only in relation to writing as art but also the ‘art’ of writing of theory. Crossing the boundaries between writing, photographic practice and spoken performance, the research endeavours to question presuppositions held of theory and practice and speaking and seeing. Another longstanding concern has been with conceptions and practices of time, particularly with regard to the still and moving photographic image. Current research sets out to address and unearth presupposition held of and by language.

Recent work

Sounding the Event: Escapades in dialogue with matters of art, nature and time
(London and New York: I.B.Tauris, 2005). Seeking to understand why contemporary culture has given attention to the notion of the event, this research seeks to make ‘soundings’ of theories of event whilst asking the question: What constitutes an event and how can this be said of the photographic image? What also occurs are experiments with the dialogic form, modes of written speech (direct speech, indirect speech and free indirect speech), the temporality of writing (past, present and future tense) and a style of theorizing that could be called novelistic.

‘A Burning Issue’ published in Images:/Images, Positionen zur zeitgenössischen Fotographie, eds., Tamara Hovalkova et al (Vienna: Passagen Verlag, 2002). This research makes an investigation into how immanence, defined as when causes remain inhered in their effects, can be a burning issue for practices and theorizations of the photographic image. It considers, and attempts to respond to, contemporary thinkers for whom the question of immanence is a crucial issue. For example, Alain Badiou, Gilles Deleuze and Antonio Negri.

‘On Bringing Education to Life: Notes for Further Thought’ published in Academy eds., Angelika Nollert, Irit Rogoff et al (Germany: Revolver and the Siemens Art Programme, 2006). This research proposes that perseverance in finding out what a particular knowledge, theory or practice presupposes is what brings education to life, in all senses of the word. The research also takes up with the proposition that desire and perseverance go hand in hand.

‘Thinking Stillness’ published in Stillness and Time: Photography and the Moving Image, eds., David Green and Joanna Lowery (Brighton: Photoforum/Photoworks 2006). This research contributes to recent debates that acknowledge the need to reconsider the stillness of the still photographic image from the perspective a culture of the moving image and contemporary technologies of time. Contending that a still photograph never has frozen a moment in time, this research is fuelled by the question: How are we to think stillness with intellectually mobile concepts?

Presentations and exhibitions

Exhibitions include:

2006, Frenzy: L’Art Decoratif D’Aujourd’Hui, Metropole Galleries, Folkestone.

2002, Fold, The City Gallery, Leicester, curated by Gen Doy, catalogue.

1998, Chemical Traces: Art into Photography, 1968-1998, Ferans Gallery, Hull, curated by David Mellor, catalogue.

1995, Sometime(s), Ist Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa, catalogue; Camera Austria, Graz (solo); Portfolio Gallery, Edinburgh (solo); Montage Gallery, Derby (solo).

1991, 3rd Israeli Photography Biennale, Museum of Art, Ein Harod, catalogue.

1989, Divergent Series: The World is a Fabulous Tale, Photographer’s Gallery, London (solo).

1989-90, Shifting Focus, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol/Serpentine Gallery, London, curated by Susan Butler, catalogue.

Collaboration (with Vit Hopley)
Exhibitions include:

2000, ‘Visions and Voices’, Sleight of Hand, Five Years Gallery, London.

1998, Close to Home, U.F.F. Budapest, Hungary, curated by Gasworks Gallery Committee, catalogue.

1998, What is a photograph?, Five Years Gallery, London.

1998, ‘Speaking isn’t seeing’, Orpheus Looking Back —A celebration of Maurice Blanchot, The Bracknell Gallery, catalogue.

1996/7, Trope: image and voice, Cambridge Darkrooms Gallery (solo), with publication.

1996, Between Two Folds, Gasworks (solo), London.

Spoken Performances include:
‘Showing off: expressionism in the social’ at Making a Scene: Performativity and Performance in Contemporary Politics and Art, one day event organised by Henry Rogers and Dave Burrows, Birmingham Inst. of Art and Design, 1999.

‘Four Readings’ evening performance for Reading Matter, Norwich Gallery, Norwich, 1999.

‘Speaking isn’t Seeing’ for Somewhere Unseen —an evening event of words and images, South London Gallery, 1998.

Selected publications

Previous publications include:

Writing the Image: An Adventure with Art and Theory (London and New York: I.B.Tauris, 2000).

‘Prepositions and Propositions’, Images of Thought, Vol 1, ed. Yve Lomax, (London: Salvo Press, 2000).

‘A Wave of Thought’, Radical Images: 2nd Austrian Triennial on Photography, (Graz, Austria: Camera Austria, Graz, 1996).

‘The world is indeed a fabulous tale; Yve Lomax, A practice around photography -Hilary Gresty in dialogue with Yve Lomax’, The Postmodern Arts: An Introduction, ed. Nigel Wheale (London and New York: Routledge, 1995).

‘Folds in the Photograph’, Third Text, No.32, 1995.

‘Better Than’, Camera Austria International, No.53, 1995.

‘Sometime(s)’, (essays with visuals), Portfolio: The Catalogue of Contemporary British Photography, 1995.

‘Telling Times: Tales of Photography and Other Stories’, Public Bodies/Private States: New views on Photography, Representation and Gender, eds. Jane Brettle and Sally Rice, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994).

‘The World is a Fabulous Tale’, Other Than Itself -Writing Photography, ed: John X Berger and Olivier Richon, (Manchester: Cornerhouse Publications, Manchester, 1989).

Writings on the work of others include:

‘Roll and the Example’ essay for Bernard G.Mills, ‘Title Roll’ in Relay (exhibition and publication, Brighton: finetuned, 2007).

‘In Production’ essay for Monica Ross in Monica Ross: justfornow (London and Newcastle: Milch in collaboration with The Hatton Gallery, 2004).

Zero Culture, catalogue essay for David Bate, Danielle Arnaud Gallery, London, 2000.

‘Responding’, catalogue essay for Face to Face, Jim Mooney, Gallery Kolo, Gdansk, Poland, 1998.

‘In Time’, catalogue essay for Oversite, Henry Rogers, Gasworks, London, 1998.

‘Never/As simple as A,B,C: The work of Gary Stevens’, A Split Second of Paradise: Live Art, Installation and Performance, eds., Nicky Childs and Jeni Walwin (London and New York: Rivers Oram Press, 1998).

‘A Few Words’, essay for Interior Light, publication of photographic work by Lynn Silverman (Stockport: Dewi Publications, 1997).

‘(…): The work of Sally Mannell’, catalogue essay for Australian Perspecta 1995, The Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Editorial:

Series editor, Artist’s Books, Copy Press, London, 2007 –
www.copypress.co.uk

Images of Thought, Vol 1 and 2 (London: Salvo Press, 2000).

Spoken Performances of writings/Public talks/ Conference contributions include:

‘Taking Theory’, keynote speaker, Telling Stories: Theories and Criticism, symposium, School of Art and Design, Loughborough University, 2007. (Contributors included Jane Rendell, Maria Fusco.)

An unpresupposed matter, Staff Research Seminars, The Royal College of Art, 2007

‘The Longest of thoughts in an interval shorter than time’ for In a short space of time and a short time of space, seminar series on Gilles Deleuze’s Cinema 1-The Movement-Image and Cinema 2-The Time-Image, The Photographer’s Gallery, London, 2004. (Contributors included, Ian Buchanan, Victor Burgin, Michael Newman, David Rodowick.)

To say something, Fine Art Research, University of the Arts, London, 1995; Royal Academy, MA Fine Art Studies, 2005.

Refusing Transcendence, Research Seminar Series, School of Arts, Middlesex University, 2004.

When an artist writes, Burren College of Art, Ireland, 2004.

‘Speaking Power’ for Writing in the Context of Art, study day at Tate Britain (contribution by CD), 2003.

Incompletion, Central St. Martins, Fine Art MA Studies, London, 2003.

The Noise of Michel Serres, Ferguson McDonald Gallery, London, 2002.

‘From a Break to a Fold’ at 374 minutes: ideas and experiment, a one day happening coinciding with the exhibition Live in Your Head: Concept & Experiment in Britain, 1965-75, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 2000.

Gestural Politics: Identity and Performance, introductory presentation and chair for panel discussion, RCA, London, 2001

‘Dancing’ introductory presentation and chair for Lost Horizons, Camberwell School of Arts, 2000. One day event organised by Melanie Jackson.

Redefining Art: a conference on Research in Fine Art, panel discussion, Goldsmiths College of Art, London, 1997.

Common Notions, Central St. Martins, Fine Art M.A. Studies. London, 1998; Symposium Photography XVII: Agents and Agencies, Photography between discourse and document, Camera Austria, Graz, Austria, 1997.

A Wave of Thought, BA Fine Art, Middlesex University, 1997.

Between text and image, Slade School of Art in conjunction with Critical Fine Art Practice, Central St.Martins and Dartington College of Performing Arts, 1996.

Better Than, Byam Shaw School of Art, London, 1996; MA Fine Art Studies, Central St.Martins, London, 1996; Camera Austria, Graz, Austria, 1995; Signals Festivals, Edinburgh, 1995; Photographer’s Gallery, London, 1995; MA Photographic Studies, University of Derby, 1994; MA Fine Art Studies, Goldsmiths College of Art, London, 1994.

Folds in the Photograph, Montage Gallery, Derby, 1995; Critical Practices Conference, Middlesex University, 1994.

Post-Modern Tales, Watershed, Bristol, 1993.

Publications include:

‘Immanent Trajectories’, parallax, Vol 7, No 4, 2001.

‘Showing off: expressionism in the Social’, in Making a Scene: Performativity and Performance in Contemporary Politics and Art, eds., Henry Rogers and Dave Burrows (Birminghman: ARTicle Press, 2000).

‘Real Time’, Diffusion, epublication: Proboscis, 2000

‘Silent Images’, Performance Research, Vol 4, issue 1, 1999.

‘Still’, Angelaki —Journal of Theoretical Humanities, Vol 3, issue 3, 1998.

‘They talk, they write, they make … together: Vit Hopley and Yve Lomax on Vit Hopley and Yve Lomax’, Make, No 75, 1997.