Anne Campbell

Anne Campbell

Anne is a photographer and artist living and working in the North East of Scotland teaching photography at Grays School of Art where she specialises in alternative processes.

She shares studio space with four other artists in the village of Monymusk, and has exhibited nationally and internationally, with her work being included in several publications.

annecampbell.photography

Michéla Griffith

In 2012 I paused by my local river and everything changed. I’ve moved away from what many expect photographs to be: my images deconstruct the literal and reimagine the subjective, reflecting the curiosity that water has inspired in my practice. Water has been my conduit: it has sharpened my vision, given me permission to experiment and continues to introduce me to new ways of seeing.

michelagriffith.com

I came across Anne Campbell’s work browsing an exhibition, a fitting way to find someone motivated by experimentation and the creation of unique prints. Anne specialises in traditional and experimental darkroom processes, using a variety of techniques – lith chemistry, mordançage, bromoil – as well as infrared film and pinhole cameras. She describes working with chemistry as a sensory experience with its low light, running water, and the gradual development of an image.

Dalmore, Lith

Would you like to start by telling readers a little about yourself – where you grew up, what your early interests were, and what you went on to do?

I grew up on Clydeside in the West Coast of Scotland in a working class environment, where many of our neighbours either worked in the shipyards or the Singer sewing machine factory. Community was everything, and we grew up with a keen sense of the importance of social justice and the huge inequalities that impacted on the lives of those around us.

My father loved the outdoors and any spare time was spent walking in the hills nearby and learning about nature. Close friends moved to the Outer Hebrides, so we spent our summer holidays there, where the crystal clear waters, empty beaches and flower filled machair left a lasting impression.

I guess to sum up my main influences growing up and working pre-photography were:

• Being brought up on Clydeside – poverty, shipyards, unions, sectarianism.
• Spending time in the Outer Hebrides gave me a love of the sea and wild remote places.
• Work experience - includes nursing, working in a hospice, working with a disabled theatre company,
• Being a counsellor for 20 years, working with drug users, families, sex workers, people who are socially excluded, people with mental health issues, visiting every prison in Scotland.
• Working for a band, touring Europe and North America – sitting in a van watching the world go by and wishing there was time to stop…
• Working in a vegetarian cafe run as a workers’ co-operative, watching the northern lights, camping in Scotland, listening to geese.
• Standing on a stage in front of 5,000 people, being in both Barlinnie and Buckingham Palace, being homeless, holding someone’s hand as they’re dying, giving birth to a child.

One good thing about getting older is that, if you’re lucky, you get to experience a lot of stuff!