• My fascination with three-dimensional art began while studying sculpture for my degree in Liverpool. I was introduced to the medium of holography and became intrigued by the effects of 3 dimensional art on the human brain. In 1990 I was accepted by the Royal College of Art to continue studying holography where I developed my skills and later progressed into the field of three dimensional lenticular photography.

I have always been interested in the interaction of the viewer when in front of a piece of art, the connections made between the viewer and the viewed, in effect, what information is passing from an image to the brain. Influenced by the art movements of the Dadaists and Surrealists, who were the explorers of the political and psychological effect of images both for the artist and for the viewer, I began a journey of exploration in images to answer the many questions that arise from this premise. So rather than make an image of a landscape, I have developed a visual style for the viewer to change their perspective in that particular moment, through technological advances in image production. I have created theories on how to keep people in front of the piece of work so that it may be explored and processed. I found that with holography and lenticular photography, it actually takes time to look around the image, rather than an oil painting that you can look at from any distance. With three-dimensional images you have choices, different viewing points and different perspectives of the subject in the one image, which is true of both lenticulars and holograms. This, then, allows the viewer some degree of control over the image.

Vision is a natural phenomenon developed over millions of years as we began to investigate our planet, but the purpose for having two eyes may not be obvious. In most cases, while giving a better range of view, two eyes produce ‘stereo vision’. Each eye picks up a slightly different view of the same scene and it is these differing views, once combined, that allow our brains to translate depth information, giving us depth perception, think of a ball flying toward you to be caught. When viewing real-life objects the brain registers them as solid and within a 3D world, however the same scene photographed in two-dimensions loses depth information, whereas a three dimensional photograph of the same scene evokes a deeper emotional response, a closer connection to the subject matter promoting a greater understanding and enjoyment of the image.

Large format three dimensional lenticular photography breaks with the convention of two dimensional photography and goes a long way to fulfilling the ‘whole’ experience, allowing us a snapshot in time in three-dimensions, giving our brains the sensation of a real face to face interaction and all the emotions that go with that, enabling us as viewers to look ‘into’ the lives of the subject. We all love to watch each other, whether sitting on a park bench or in a traffic jam, humans are fascinated with other humans. When confronted by a dimensional portrait there is an enhanced emotive response as when actually visiting the subject matter in real life. In essence it appears that three dimensional lenticular photography expands and widens our experience, in this case, of daily life in Macroom.

The subjects for this exhibition are all living or working in Macroom town and my hope is that as the saying goes Butcher, Baker, Candlestick maker… everyone will relate to some representation of their community. Young, old, wrinkled or smooth, the images portray a whole community as a real community. The exhibition portrays people in their own space doing what would be natural to them. I approached this exhibition with the aim of the capturing people in real life situations doing real life things, the ordinary becoming the extraordinary.

When I first drove into Macroom to look around the town and to choose subjects for the exhibition I decided that the best approach was to let the town talk to me. As you walk down any street the first thing that you see are the buildings, and they reveal something of the characters that exist inside. Looking around I realised that past and present co-exist in any small community and it was important to capture a cross section of people as well as a moment in time, the exhibition being a snapshot of May 2008 when production took place. As an example, I saw the Polish shop as a relatively new and welcome addition to Irish culture revealing that we are being influenced by other cultures whose presence is now written on our landscape and exist in our communities.

This exhibition aims to extend and enhance people’s experience of their community and understanding of the people who each play an essential role within, though the use of the third dimension.
Copyright Jon Mitton, 2008

Macrompians was Kindly funded by Cork County Council. Thankyou.