'A Little Bit of Magic Realised'

On the whole, the works shown at the current Ingleby exhibition display a considered balance between photographic nuance and scientific clarity. Although there are times when the works err into diagrammatic sterility, for example Susan Derges’ ‘Chladni Figures’, or Gary Fabian Millers’ ‘Red Swim Late Summer’, these are in the minority.

The variety of works on the ground floor is not found upstairs, where there is a reliance on a restrictive colour palette that at points causes the works to merge into one another. The large scale format of the works upstairs do have presence, but a close scrutiny of their formal qualities finds them lacking – especially in comparison to the best works downstairs. These noteworthy pieces were Derges’ ‘Hertmetica’ video, her cibachrome photogram ‘Full Circle 2’, and Anna Atkins’ cyanotope photogram series.

They are all entrancing in their ability to synthesise formal qualities with scientific content - at cost to neither. ‘Hermetica’ shows a golden liquid rippling in reaction to an ever ascending sound frequency, causing a scintillating vacillation between amoebic and geometric forms. The series of nine photograms ‘Full Circle 2’ culminates in a poetic meditation on the life cycle of a frog, seen from a series of original and beautifully constructed perspectives. Atkins’ cyanotopes depict delicate white silhouettes of plant forms sitting on a blue background. If not for their date (1850s) these works could easily be viewed as a successful scientific response to Matisse’s ‘Blue Nude’ figures.