Sustainable Art Project
Nils Aksnes
Nils Aksnes works with and constructs his own pinhole cameras, photographing washed up beach waste to create abstract landscapes, blending the man-made and natural world within one frame. showing the effect human consumption has on the Scottish coastline.
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Nils' Practice
I have made cameras from both recycled and locally sourced materials (Føroyar), A pinhole camera which I made in the Faroe islands during a 1 month residency on the islands in 2016. The camera is made using the materials and skills available on the islands. This project was a collaboration with local craftspeople who I approached with the idea and asked if they would be willing to make a part. Silvursnid made me the brass pinhole, Guðrið Poulsen made the stoneware box and Joel Cole helped me make the winders. The body is felted from Faroese sheep's wool.
The Horizons images were made using a camera (Finite Industries Masking Camera) which I have designed and built that allows me to mask off areas of the film. I used two simple rectangular masks for these images to combine colours and textures from separate locations over several separate exposures. The colours are a mix of plastic found on the coastline - imaged by holding it close to the front of the pinhole and also natural materials and textures found on the same shoreline.
The Colour in the landscape images were made using an Ondu wooden pinhole camera. They are images of found colours (often plastics) on the coastline of Argyll in Scotland.