Edinburgh Photographer’s work is subject in GCSE exams!

by Kate Donnelly

Kevin Wilson (35), of Stockbridge, creates surrealist photographs inspired by his dreams. And his art is now being used by hundreds of students as part of the AQA GCSE Art and Design 2010 coursework and exam.

The young people are studying his pictures under the subject ‘Fantastic Forms’ where they choose an artist or photographer to study and reproduce work in that style.
He said:-“I initially found out that I was included in the GCSE exam when teachers and students started contacting me through my website and the traffic to my site increased dramatically.

“They have been leaving comments and asking for information.”

Kevin held his first exhibition in 2003 and is currently looking for a venue for another show. He added: “My original inspiration came from surrealist films and painting, especially the films of Luis Bunuel.

“In terms of photographers Duane Michals and Ralph Gibson inspired me initially, and they are probably the reason I still take the type of photographs I do and not landscapes.
It all began when I started writing down my dreams in a journal, and then took up photography in 2001 in order to recreate some of the scenes and ideas from the dreams I was transcribing.

“I am trying to recreate intangible events which may or may not have existed, so they can only ever be approximations of the actual event and will never be exact so the use of text helps to tell the story or get across the idea or feel of the dream.”
His photos normally follow a sequence and he also uses text to come up with the best way to change his idea or dream into an image.
Kevin’s dreams are also being used in a study to discover what influence environmental factors (geomagnetic activity) have on dreams.
For more information, log on to his website or e-mail mailinglist@insomnium.co.uk.