alicia bruce

-Diffusion: Cardiff International Festival of Photography 1 - 31 May 2013

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:14:00 -0500

-Diffusion: Cardiff International Festival of Photography 1 - 31 May 2013 : A month long festival of...

Alicia Bruce: Artist of the Month

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:54:24 -0400

Alicia Bruce: Artist of the Month: axisweb: Each month we select an artist from the Axis Directory...

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Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:49:12 -0400

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Leaving Blaenavon. Sunday 28 August 2011 Wild Horses. **BEST...

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:06:00 -0400

Leaving Blaenavon. Sunday 28 August 2011

Wild Horses.

**BEST VIEWED WITH SOUND OFF**

Blaenavon make some noiiiiiise! Last night was my final...

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 05:00:00 -0400

Blaenavon make some noiiiiiise!

Last night was my final official photo shoot for the Blaenavon project commissioned by Ffotogallery. A series of portraits of young musicians at a gig in The Workman’s Hall. With a tiny studio space set up in a small secluded corner to the left of the stage I made a portrait of each performer straight off the stage in the spirit of the James Ward painting ‘A Young Man’ 1815.

Above are a selection of the 22 portraits.

This was the Salvador Promotions launch gig. A group of savvy Blaenavon teenagers who’ve set up their own music promo company securing £2500 from The Princes Trust.

Bands included:
Headliners ‘The Guns’ with support from The Calling Card, INC, and The Loren Balaam Band.

Thanks to Salvador Promotions for the re-tweets. To Melissa & Adrian for assisting set up & gathering model release forms. Thanks also to Paul for driving me to The Workmans Hall in monsoon like conditions and to the staff at Workmans Hall for letting me do a quick location scout on Friday afternoon. Biggest thanks to the bands for taking time to participate straight after the gigs. Some good souls in this community!

Final week in Wales..

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:14:00 -0400

This is my final week in the Valley’s. Last week was the most productive & enjoyable...

Before the Bard… & the saddest pony in the...

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:21:00 -0400

Before the Bard… & the saddest pony in the world

Tonight I photographed John Rodger as ‘The Bard’ & was lucky enough to have two assistants. We were set up well in advance of Johns arrival & I’d chosen a lump of slag, an emblem of the post industrial landscape as the location.

Louise & I told Luke, my additional assistant, that although we’d be knee deep in horse & sheep poo remarkable things may happen. We we tweaking with cameras when an unexpected curious wild pony arrived and decided to join us. She examined all our equipment then took a shine to Luke who led her up to the position I’d chosen for the bard. She then kept us company for a while before roaming into the distance. Possibly the most melancholy pony I’ve ever seen but well worth a few snaps as we waited for our subject to arrive & the sun to set.

The photographs of John as ‘The Bard’ shall be shown at a later date.. Films in the lab tomorrow.

Tonight I photographed 32 members of Blaenavon’s Male...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:53:00 -0400

Tonight I photographed 32 members of Blaenavon’s Male Voice Choir. I’ve been hoping to photograph the choir since I saw them singing on World Heritage Day but found them difficult to pin down… they get the school holidays off.

With the help of their coordinator Ian Cook I arranged to photograph ten members of the choir this evening at a studio I’d set up at The Workman’s Hall. Thirty three showed up. There are group portraits of the men in many Blaenavon shops, pubs and publications. I wanted to portray the choir as individuals but also as a collective. Two of the thirty three portraits are above.

Thanks to Mike & Sheila from The Workman’s Hall for allowing us to use their wonderful space. To Ian for helping gather the troops, to Louise for assisting and to Ffotogallery for providing a last minute spare part.

I spent yesterday photographing staff at The Big Pit National...

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:48:24 -0400

Paul

Bethan

I spent yesterday photographing staff at The Big Pit National Coal Museum. There are some great folks working there, many of them like Paul, above, are ex-miners. Bethan, above, works in the Pit Cafeteria and is also a photographer. She’s a 2010 Fine Art Photography graduate from Newport.

I’m sad to report I did not get permission to photograph in the mine due to high visitor numbers. Gutted.

This afternoon I collaborated with the unstoppable Sheila...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:28:00 -0400

This afternoon I collaborated with the unstoppable Sheila Hawkins of Hawkins Corn Store. Sheila is in her 70s and still ball of energy running two businesses. Sheila, a mining widow, chose ‘In Wales’ by Richard Ansdell. Her cat Freddie is also in the image. I still love the tension of waiting for films to process & looking forward to getting these ones back.

This morning I collaborated with Blaenavon local legend George...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:06:00 -0400

This morning I collaborated with Blaenavon local legend George Spencer. George is in his 80s and runs an electrical shop in Blaenavon six days a week. George studied medicine but came back to his hometown in Blaenavon when his father became ill. He is keen on filmaking and worked in the local cinema, his wife was an usherette, they were both champion ballroom dancers. George has held many posts in local council & was Mayor of Blaenavon in the 1970s. A very cool dude! The film from our shoot is currently being processed but here’s an iPhone snap if George.

I spent a large part of today at The Big Pit: National Coal...

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:22:00 -0400

I spent a large part of today at The Big Pit: National Coal Museum in Blaenavon discussing two potential series of images I’ll be making there with curator & ex-miner Ceri. The first series will be made down in the mine…awaiting permission. The second series begins this Friday and will feature portraits of Big Pit staff, mostly ex-miners, and visitors from all walks of life. Thanks again to Ceri & co for making me feel welcome & making me laugh.. The Big Pit is a real gem with lots of community spirit.

www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/

Lots of folk stopped to say hello & waved at me today in the town… I’m starting to feel like part of the community which is lovely. There have still been some odd incidents.. yesterday my assistant & I went into a pub for some food & received an icy reception. Everyone stopped and stared. No-one spoke. It turns out were not serving food until 7pm so we left and went to the lovely Butterfiles pub & restaurant instead. Highly recommended!

A snap of a sheep I took for my nieces..

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:50:02 -0400

A snap of a sheep I took for my nieces..

Wild horses appeared at The Keepers Pond today. It felt like a...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:53:39 -0400

Wild horses appeared at The Keepers Pond today. It felt like a dream.

Back in Wales after a brilliant week home in Scotland… Just had...

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:07:34 -0400

Back in Wales after a brilliant week home in Scotland… Just had a wee location scout in The Valleys with my assistant Louise. We were blessed with stunning light & skies before it started chucking it down. Let’s hope we get more light like this over the next few weeks…

A week back in Scotland...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:13:00 -0400

The blog is quiet this week as I’m back in Scotland for work until 7 August. Edinburgh is...

Today I met the artist Pip Woolf who I’ve been hoping to...

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:09:00 -0400

Today I met the artist Pip Woolf who I’ve been hoping to meet since my first visit to Wales. Her work ‘A Woollen Line’ was made with the help of 400 volunteers including the Ghurka Army & is nothing short of extraordinary. When I first heard of Pip she sounded like a mythical character… repairing damaged landscapes in the Brecon Beacons with an installation of wool. A 300 x 0.75 metre drawing made of felted wool pegged down on an area of degraded peat bog in the Black Mountains, Wales UK. A Woollen Line.

We also met Pip’s partner Gil and her 100 year old mother Bea. A lovely afternoon. I’m really looking forward to meeting them again in August.

For more info on The Woollen Line see Pip’s blog

Photo Credit: Robbie Robertson

Poor visibility in Blaenavon this eve..

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:54:37 -0400

Poor visibility in Blaenavon this eve..

New collaborator. Today we’d planned a mini break which...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:57:49 -0400

New collaborator.

Today we’d planned a mini break which has now turned to a mini mini break following an early phone call and impromptu meeting with John Rodger.

John is a local hero (to name check a mutual favourite film). He was the Site Co-ordinator for Blanavon World Heritage Site raising £50 million to develop & preserve the area. We had a good chat at The Big Pit followed by a site visit to the location for our collaboration. For John’s portrait we will reference The Bard by Thomas Jones. I may need additional assistants to light this image. Either way it shall be an exciting collaboration & great to hear more about the history of the geology in Blaenavon.

Well worth missing the start of our mini break for.

Thought for the day..

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:00:39 -0400

Thought for the day..