Friday, 1:00pm
7 June 2013

Road to nowhere

Subterranean photography exhibition ‘Hind Land’ by Nick Rochowski and Tim Bowditch goes on display at The Front Room gallery, London

‘Hind Land’ is a photographic collaboration by Nick Rochowski and Tim Bowditch and is the winner of the Troika Editions / FORMAT13 Award, writes Alex Cameron.

The installation on show at Troika Editions’ The Front Room gallery on London’s Farringdon Road, takes the viewer on a journey few will recognise, yet millions know well. ‘Hind Land’ is a photographic exploration of London’s M25 motorway from a subterranean perspective and offers rich monochromatic textures of the much used, but often loathed London Orbital. From public walkways beneath the structure the viewer is asked to look again at the rich tapestry left behind by the footprint of an urban thoroughfare.

Photographs by Nick Rochowski and Tim Bowditch.

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The depth and tone of the imagery, along with a beautiful sense of liquidity, is brought to us via an Achromatic Digital Back and often hour-long exposure times. This is no happy accident, relying as it does on great care and attention by skilled photographers and storytellers. The finished works can play tricks on the brain, from seeing water where concrete stands or movement in fixed, immovable structures. All of which is well captured and exhibited through the curation of the space.

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‘Hind Land’ has a cinematic quality; context is provided by the Matthew de Kersaint Giraudeau’s accompanying sound recording of the roar of ambient traffic noise above. Floor-to-ceiling photography, which is dimly lit, reveals more to the eye the longer you stay.

Troika Editions is a small, but perfectly formed photographic curiosity in central London. An online gallery with an offline space, it supports new and emerging photographers pushing the constraints of the medium. It is a venue that is taking chances and in this instance, has unearthed some of the beauty beneath our feet.

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Hind Land’ continues until 30 June 2013 at The Front Room, 96 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA.

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