We have been pleased to work with Nottingham’s New Art Exchange on a number of occasions in the past including the Realism In Raiwiya exhibition in 2013 and several projects with artist Hetain Patel.
Towards the end of last year we were asked to look at printing solutions for the current exhibition ‘The Aura of Boxing’ by photographer and principle lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, Max Kandhola.
This has led to the production of one of the most extensive creative / photographic projects that we have been involved with.
This from the New Art Exchanges exhibition information;
“The Aura of Boxing encapsulates Max’s ability to research through the act of photography, using his camera as a means to explore and unveil the depths of life. In this collection the explicit representation of the traditional ‘fight’ is avoided; instead Max explores conflicts within the fighter. Kandhola focuses on the ring and the gym as spaces for preparation and meditation in an attempt to capture the boxers’ aura in these moments of psychological intensity; the moments shortly before entering the ring and after leaving it, during which the boxer truly is vulnerable and yet often unnoticed”.
We were pleased to invite Max to our production facility in Nottingham to look at the images with the pre-press operators and discuss the aesthetic for the show so we could better match process and material to outcome. One of the main criteria being to produce not just the best output quality but also to achieve very large scale works. The work was to be installed by the gallery team at NAE and we felt it important to produce something with good durability and practical handling properties. The Digimura wall paper best fitted this application this printed on using the VuteK GS3250lx printer.
The large images have been printed in up to 4 ‘drops’ with the individual files split using the devices Rip.
In the week prior to the opening the gallery team installed the images with enviable precision throughout the main gallery and mezzanine. Projects of this type are always challenging as they stretch our technical capabilities to better realize the artist’s vision for the work. The finished presentation is both imposing and engaging from technical and aesthetic perspectives.
We were very pleased to receive positive feedback from both the NAE organisers and the artist. The exhibition is running until the 21st of April with subsequent exhibitions planned in Derby and London over coming months.
Photo credit: Max Kandhola at the event opening – Bartosz Kali