About The Exhibition
Belfast Exposed is pleased to present Proverbs by Robert Ellis, an on-going body of work using photographic images and audio recordings that engage with the contemporary landscape of Uganda while exploring its layers of memory.
While the proverbs themselves exist as a result of concentrated wisdoms based on experience, the images here do not attempt to portray the age-old wisdoms. Rather, they seek to create a platform which might allow them to be re-imagined. Wandering through this unfamiliar landscape, Ellis’ photographs linger on the people and its landforms.
Fluid in approach, there are no fixed stories to tell, or no conclusive outcomes to communicate, rather an overarching narrative considers how place is experienced, in terms of its aesthetic values, and for the layers of memory and history that it holds.
The Artists
Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis completed his MFA in Photography at the Ulster University (2011), having previously graduated with a BA Hons Degree in Photography from Dublin Institute of Photography (2007). He is currently a part-time lecturer in photography at both Burren College of Art in Co. Clare, and Griffith College in Dublin.
His photographic practice deals with the notion of ‘home’, working with small rural communities, often relying on inherent or local knowledge to inform a sense of place. In 2014 he was invited as an emerging European photographer to participate in Plat(t)form at Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland. In 2014 Ellis was also commissioned by Irish Curator Valerie Connor for Golden Mountain at TULCA Visual Arts Festival. His series New Line was featured in New Irish Works as part of the PhotoIreland Festival’s 2013 main exhibition and book publication of the same name. The New Line book is available as part of a series of publications known as ‘Where We Are’ published by Aad Design.
In 2013 Robert Ellis spent three months in Uganda at the Nagenda International Academy of Art & Design (NIAAD) where he was a visiting lecturer and Artist in Residence. In 2016 he received funding from the Arts Council of Ireland to return to Uganda and develop the project further.
Acknowledgements
Belfast Exposed Futures is generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The Directory.