Camera-less photography: Garry Fabian Miller

Garry Fabian Miller is one of the most progressive figures in fine art photography. Born in 1957, he has made exclusively 'camera-less' photographs since the mid 1980s. He works in the darkroom, shining light through coloured glass vessels and over cut-paper shapes to create forms that record directly onto photographic paper. These rudimentary methods recall the earliest days of photography, when the effects of light on sensitised paper seemed magical.

Across languages and cultures, the earliest colour categories are believed to have been those of light and dark, followed almost universally by a term for red. Fabian Miller's images therefore suggest primal experience and a definition of colour and shape that can be understood on several levels.

The titles Becoming Magma and From the Red Pool refer to molten rock beneath the earth's surface. The horizontal images conjure a prehistoric landscape. The circular pieces evoke a planetary or cosmic form, perhaps the Zen enso, or circles of enlightenment- a symbol of the cycle of life.

Martin Barnes, Curator of Photographs, 2005

Written to accompany the Garry Fabian Miller exhibition.

The display coincided with the publication of Illumine: Photographs by Garry Fabian Miller, A Retrospective by Martin Barnes (Merrell Publishers, London and New York 2005).

Click on the images below for larger versions and more information.

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma 2'

  Garry Fabian Miller
  'Becoming Magma 2'
  June 2004
  Water, light, dye destruction print
  Width 128 cm x height 147 cm
  © Garry Fabian Miller

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma

  Garry Fabian Miller
  'Becoming Magma, New Year, January 2005'
  2005
  Water, light, dye destruction print
  Width 41 cm x height 30.5 cm
  © Garry Fabian Miller

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'From the Red Pool

  Garry Fabian Miller
  'From the Red Pool, November 30th, 2004'
  Light, water, dye destruction prints
  Width 197cm x height: 65cm
  © Garry Fabian Miller

   

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'From the Red Pool

  Garry Fabian Miller
  'From the Red Pool, December 1st 2004'
  Light, water, dye destruction prints
  Width 166cm x height: 74cm
  © Garry Fabian Miller

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

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  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller

  Garry Fabian Miller, 'Becoming Magma' display in V&A gallery 38. © Garry Fabian Miller