19 – 31 July 2013
Open Tuesday – Saturday 11.00 – 17.00
Private View Friday 19 July 18.00 – 21.00
Patrick is a Liverpool based fine artist using the digital medium in a broadly traditional photographic way. His work is in the rural and
urban landscape, where he searches out the unfamiliar and overlooked to raise our perception of what is really there.
“Its easy to look and not see in our daily lives. We make assumptions about what we see without the time to analyse what is there in front of us. I try to make that time”
After a successful career in education in the city, Patrick reverted to his long standing love of photography and recently has been
identified as an emerging talent on the city’s artistic spectrum.
In June 2012 his exhibition of images of Liverpool buildings, Another Look at the independent Domino Gallery, was well received and gained positive reviews, notably from Art In Liverpool, where the critic Sinead Nunes wrote:
“Another Look encourages the viewer to explore local buildings which we are familiar with in a totally unfamiliar and original way,
and succeeds in finding beauty in those structures that we often find ugly and out of place. Higgins’ work depends on timing and an eye for detail, which results in his triumphant rendering of some of the most famous, and most disregarded buildings in Liverpool, and questions our preconceptions about the imposition of modern architecture on our beloved historical city.”
That approach is very evident in much of Patrick’s work, where he seeks to tease out something unexpected and original from the
frequently mundane. Perspective, shape, colour or the absence of it, all go to create images that are at once striking, abstract and of
some grandeur.
“I love the detail behind the image. Texture, light and shade, and the everyday event that becomes locked in the final image.”
Currently Another Look is having its second public showing at Liverpool University’s School for Histories, Languages and Cultures in
Abercromby Square, where there are 27 images on display. Higgins hopes to eventually have this work published when the project is complete.
In 2011 a monochrome image of the Chinese Ceremonial Arch that features in the current exhibition, was runner up in the Liverpool:
Inspiring Places Competition held by the Anglican Cathedral.
Patrick is also an accomplished landscape photographer, spending much time in Pembrokeshire capturing stylish images of … “The land and seascapes of Wales, where the weather can change in minutes from overcast and murky to dazzling brilliance, is both awe-inspiring and humbling. Between these poles lie the most extraordinary scenes of light and shade. I use colour when necessary, working frequently in black and white and often toning at the print stage.”
It is the landscape that has until recently been the main focus of his work and where he has enjoyed some notable success. Last year he had images published in the International Contemporary Artists publication that put his work in front of an international audience. In October his was the winning entry in the MigSolv Data Photographic Competition with a dramatic shot entitled Approaching Storm, captured threatening a Pembrokeshire beach in October. The prize is publication in Business Today, a magazine with a circulation of
350,000, as MigSolv’s lead advertising image.
“It’s a strong image and one that was seen as topical bearing in mind the rain we experienced in late Autumn last year…mind you, it
does rain a bit all year round in Wales. That’s why it is so green and stunningly beautiful.”
This year his work has been shown and published in America, both in Portland and New York where three images are currently part of the See Me Exhibition The Story of the Creative, in their Long Island Gallery.
Lately, Patrick has been working more and more in the Liverpool area where he sells his images through some select outlets: The Made – Here pop up shop in the Met Quarter and John Lennon Airport, Madelainartz in Liscard and Blueprint at the Bluecoat. He regularly
submits work for Liverpool art shows, sells at art fairs (The Winter Fair at St. George’s Hall) and of course on line through his own
website and Facebook.
“Over the last year or so I have been exploring the footprint left on the city by the Beatles. It is hard to tackle anything to do with
the Beatles that has not been done before but there are images coming out that are provoking some interest and its a project that has
dovetailed well with my rediscovery of our city.”
Patrick is in some demand for his camera work. He is currently producing images for the OK Foundation in support of their efforts to
pressure Parliament to debate the Sudden Death Syndrome that claims the lives of 12 children a week.
Patrick’s images are vibrant and edgy, impacting on our senses and questioning our environment and how it is changing, holding a mirror up to the future allowing us to see the context of the past. An important service in these rapidly moving times.
Fallout Factory annual Competition Winner
www.
Fallout Factory, 97 Dale Street, Liverpool