TOM CHAMBERS, RUNNER UP OF THE SEPTEMBER 2017 EDITION
Please scroll down to see the statement and images of Tom's Project
Photographer Tom Chambers was raised in the Amish farm country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Tom completed a B.F.A. in 1985 from The Ringling School of Art, Sarasota, Florida majoring in graphic design with an emphasis in photography. Since 1998 Tom has exhibited photomontage images from nine photographic series both nationally and internationally in twenty-one solo exhibitions and over seventy group exhibitions and art fairs. Tom has received fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Tom’s photography is held in the collections of the National Museum of Photography, Bogotá, Colombia; California Sate Polytechnic University; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA; Santa Fe Museum of Art, NM; Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Bangkok, Thailand; Texas Photographic Society; City of Jacksonville, FL - Art in Public Places; University of Texas; Sir Richard Branson, personal collection; and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Tom’s work has been published in multiple publications and books. "Entropic Kingdom", containing images from five series, was published by Modernbook Editions in 2012. Galerie Vevais published "Werkdruck No. 6" in 2015 featuring his Illumination series. A retrospective book, Hearts and Bones, will be released in the Fall of 2018, by Unicorn Publishing, London.
Project Statement, Still Beating
In 2017 I released the first 13 images of my most recent series “Still Beating”. With support from the the Biennial Grant I hope to complete this ongoing narrative art project with another 10-12 narrative images. Narrative Art refers to visual imagery which tells stories, engages the imagination, and stirs the emotions. These stories transcend culture and are relatable to all. My photomontage is narrative art which additionally uses magic realism. Magic realism creates stories which seem both true and believable, but likely are improbable. Using magic realism, “Still Beating” presents narrative imagery about the vitality of all living things whose survival is challenged. These living things are the embodiment of contrasts, both weakness of body and strength of emotions. As you hold a wild bird in your hand, you can feel both its fragile bones contrasted with the fortitude of its beating heart. And yet such creatures prevail through sheer grit. Witnessing the determination for survival is a source of hope that the natural world will endure. If awarded the Biennial Grant, I would use the funding to travel to Scotland and Ireland to shoot photography of landscapes, people, animals, and cultural objects. Such an opportunity would have a profoundly positive impact on my career as an innovative artist. For over twenty years I have been able to push the boundaries of the medium of photography through technology and technique. My overarching goal is continue to develop as an artist and create imaginative photomontages inspired by travel.
