Elieen Quinlan
First published 18 May 2020
American contemporary photographer Eileen Quinlan challenges "the conventions of photography", turning the lens inwards to explore the durational transformation of lived experience, memories and materials (Cotton 2013, 366). Following in the footsteps of practitioners from Moholy-Nagy to James Welling”, the artist deconstructs the intricacies of photographic technique and technology to reveal “new means of expression" (Stillman 2011).
Quinlan's work and approach to photography have contributed to my deepening appreciation of the potentiality of the medium, "present as a quality of the image due to the irreducibility of the abstract and the real, on the one hand, as well as the incorporation within any understanding of their work of the techniques of which they are the result, on the other (Benjamin 2010,199).
All but mirroring my own experience, Quinlan (2013) recalls how music “lifted me out of a […] tremulous adolescence, connecting me for the first time to like-minded souls”. The artist reflects, “Through music, I discovered joy, community, and hope, not to mention an identity” (ibid).
In 2020 I commenced study in the Master of Photography program at RMIT University Melbourne. Less than six weeks into the course, the pandemic's onset and ensuing lockdowns forced me to look outside my 20-year career in the live music sector as a concert and social documentary photographer (Damage 2021, 8-9). Through my research, I discovered the work of Eileen Quinlan. The artist inspired my exploration of abstraction and development of practice in alchemical modes of the medium – as seen in Invent Define Destruct (ibid, 34-40) –Quinlan’s multidisciplinary approach in selecting subject matter and processes – continues to inform my practice four years on.
Eileen Quinlan, No One Sleeps 2014
Eileen Quinlan, Fried Sensor 2015
Eileen Quinlan, Camp Creek, 2020, gelatin silver print, 1168x914mm
Relevance to practice
Abstraction, Contemporary, 21st-century, Photography, Alternative photography, Film, Large format, Darkroom, Alternative printing
Keywords
Eileen Quinlan, Contemporary, Photography, Abstract, Photogram, Chemography, Large format, Medium format, 21st-century artists, Community of practice
References
Cotton, Charlotte. 2015. Photography Is Magic. New York: Aperture.
McDonough, Thomas. 2016, "Eileen Quinlan Between Substrate and Sublimate". Eileen Quinlan Selected Press: 2-5. Miguel Abreu Gallery. PDF. https://miguelabreugallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/EQuinlan_SelectedPress_opt-2.pdf>
Quinlan, Eileen. 2013. “THIS LONG CENTURY.” Thislongcentury.com. 2013. http://www.thislongcentury.com/eileen-quinlan.Cotton, C 2015, Photography is Magic, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY
Quinlan, Eileen. 2014. No One Sleeps. Image. https://www.campolipresti.com/artists/eileen-quinlan/bio.
Quinlan, Eileen. 2015. Fried Sensor. Image. https://miguelabreugallery.com/artists/quinlan/works/.
Quinlan, Eileen. 2020. Camp Creek. Image. https://miguelabreugallery.com/artists/quinlan/works/.
Squires, C, Batchen, G, Baker, G & Steyerl H 2013, What Is a Photograph?, International Center for Photography and DelMonico Books, New York, NY
Stillman, Steel. 2011. “Eileen Quinlan: An Interview”. Art News. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/eileen-quinlan-2-62881/.