Light Work mounts exhibition featuring work of British photographer Rik Pinkcombe

Light Work mounts exhibition featuring work of British photographer Rik PinkcombeOctober 24, 2006Jessica Heckmanjhheckma@syr.edu

Beginning Wednesday, Nov. 1, the Light Work gallery, 316 Waverly Ave., will open “Perception and Deception,” featuring the work of British photographer Rik Pinkcombe. The images in the exhibition, taken mostly in the Syracuse area, are digitally distorted and manipulated to represent the way one’s vision can become altered by outside pressures and influences, such as consumerism, religion, government, education and sports. The exhibition runs through Dec. 22.

A reception is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public. Limited free parking is available in the Marion lot. Paid parking is available in Booth Garage.

One of the main themes behind Pinkcombe’s work is identity — he is particularly interested in how outside influences affect who people are. In some photographs he looks at racial identity through images of borders, bridges and traffic stops, which link communities and also symbolize immigration and emigration. He also creates what he calls “theater images,” where the photographs are manipulated and stripped of so much information that they begin to look like film sets, theater sets or models.

Pinkcombe lives in London. He attended school at Blackpool College of Lancaster University. First trained as a commercial photographer, Pinkcombe shifted to art photography after a prolonged battle with leukemia made him re-evaluate his life. He participated in Light Work’s Aritst-in-Residence program in March 2005. His recent exhibition venues include the Stephen Lawrence Gallery in Greenwich and the 921 Gallery in Hackney, Great Britain.

Also on view is the exhibition “2006 Light Work Grants,” featuring the work of photographers Laura Heyman, Thilde Jensen and Rishi Singhal. The trio was awarded grants through the 2006 Light Work Grant program.

Gallery hours are Sunday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and by appointment. Light Work is a nonprofit, artist-run organization dedicated to the support of artists working in photography and electronic media. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit http://www.lightwork.org or contact Jessica Heckman, promotions coordinator, at 443-1300 or jhheckma@syr.edu.