Public Republic

Vanya Nikolaeva

Paul Biddle is an English Fine Art Photographer, whose work is beyond the limits of imagination. It opens the gates of an extraordinary world where everything you see could hardly be forgotten.

“My inspiration and influences range from Renaissance art to Dadaism and Surrealism, from Picasso to the flotsam and jetsam that I pick up on my walks by the sea near my home.”

“Having experimented with a wide variety of media during my time at art school, I found that photography was the thing that excited me the most. Its immediacy and the rather hazy line that can be created between reality and the feeling of not being quite sure what’s happening is what I find appealing.”

“Some pictures are simple and complete inside my head from the beginning, but most of my images start with the inspiration of the objects themselves. It may be something found in a junk shop, washed up on the beach near my home or something from my past, such as wooden letters from a childhood game or my palette from art school days.”

“I often assemble a collection of such items and then experiment to find the perfect juxtaposition of composition, form and colours – what I think of as playtime. Sometimes a meaning will evolve that was not intended, but I mostly prefer people to read what they like into the pictures and hopefully enjoy them for their visual stimulation.”

What first sparked your interest in art and how did it happen?

When I was very young I won a painting competition and the prize was a wonderful book about art; as soon as I dipped into it I saw the Meaning and Magic of art – there was no turning back.

What does your art suggest / represent?

An interesting question but true surrealism has no coherent meaning – and although I title my work,
I never give it a meaning. I like viewers to make their own conclusions and often the meanings they come up with are much better than I could think of. 🙂

Where do you seek and find inspiration?

I am an observer and dreamer – I can find inspiration from a piece of litter or an object I find in an old junk shop or a word or phrase-and the cloudy sky.

Why is art needed, what does it give to people?

Art refreshes the soul – it makes our imagination soar.

How would you describe yourself as an artist with a few words?

I am a dreamer with a profound urge and need to create things.

The work of which artist you like most?

This is a difficult question – my tastes change constantly but I am more influenced by painters than photographers – I originally trained as a painter but was useless at drawing and then whilst at art school someone showed me a darkroom – I am a self taught photographer.

Can art be called art if it does not provoke the imagination?

No, I don’t think art is truly art unless it provokes the imagination – it becomes purely decorative if it doesn’t provoke.

What would you be if your life was not related to art? What other “vocation” would you have?

I think I would work as a conservationist in the environment.

Paul Biddle

Exhibitions UK:
Association of Photographers, Tapestry, The Image Bank, Euro RSCG, Ceta, Lowe Lintas, The Royal Photographic Society, The Edward James Foundation, Dartington

Worldwide:
New York, Tokyo, Cologne, Vienna, Linz, Arles, Amsterdam, Quebec, Milan, Wisconsin,
Florida

Awards:

Association of Photographers, UK
Gold and Merit – 1989
Merit – 1990
Entries – 1992 & 1994
Royal Photographic Society
Gold medal – 1991
Gold medal – 1992
Entries – 1994 & 2001
Kodak Triple Exposure
Overall winner – 1991
3D Illustrators Awards, USA
Bronze – 1993
Gold & 7 Bronzes – 1994
Austrian Super Circuit
Overall winner – 1996
Medal winner – 1999
Medal winner – 2002
Medal winner – 2004
Medal winner – 2006
Medal winner – 2007

Polaroid European Final Art Awards:
Best Colour Print – 1999
Apogee Photo Winner – 2004
Top Ten Surrealists Roma – 2008