Nick Meek is a renowned British photographer and filmmaker. Growing up in the North of England, the short summers and slate-grey winter skies inspired him to create imagery that explores the possibilities of light, colour and space.
Much of Nick’s work is set in the USA, an ideal canvas with itsdiverse, spectacular scenery, vast landscapes and cultural . From the sculptural majesty of Monument Valley and Yosemite’s El Capitan, to a dusty street corner in downtown Oklahoma, he seeks to capture a feeling, the sensation and resonance of a perfectly realised moment in time.
By seeking to capture an environment or object in all its beauty, Nick’s approach leaves us with images that we can interpret in different ways. In leaving aside preconceptions and partiality in the capture, the viewer is free to create his or her (singular/plural)own narrative: The Space Shuttle ‘Endeavour’ as a potent symbol of the USA’s quest to push the boundaries of human knowledge? Or simply a multi-billion dollar power play? Perhaps we see it simply as an awe-inspiring piece of industrial design? This is the nature of essential artistic dialogue necessary for creating a deeper understanding of our world and connection to it.
With a background in traditional printmaking techniques, Nick always works through the process from capture to the final result. “For me, it seems totally alien to have someone else print my images as so much of the colour ideas that are conceived at capture have to be translated from memory to the final print. Even though paper and ink batches change, I subtly adjust each piece, so that every image in the edition is utterly unique.”
By eschewing the usual tricks of digital manipulation, Nick has maintained an organic approach to his work. This has included experimenting with original large format cameras and mixing wood and metal bodies with digital backs. The intention is always the same: to achieve something that has meaning and power.
His imagery has an idyllic, almost dreamlike quality. Light, composition and a thrilling approach to colour combining to create something very much of this world, yet unquestionably other at the same time. Through objects, people and places are grounded in what is definitively real, there is always something enigmatic and timeless at play.