Luke Fowler is an artist and filmmaker, based in Glasgow. In 2016, he documented his artistic residency in Bamburg, Germany. Fowler created the double images by using a half camera frame, exposing two images in one frame. After developing the first roll, he was amazed by the resulting diptychs. This was the start of his new project, resulting in his book Two-Frame Films. The book addresses the fine line between photography and film.

In the book Fowler discusses how ‘the blink of any eye’ has a different meaning to us humans than it does with the camera. When we blink we are blind to the world in that instant. However, a camera takes in everything in that one blink when we press the button. Since we are blind in the instant when the photographic image captures everything, these images are a false representation of life. By printing two images side by side, he aims to emphasise the momentary nature of photography.

Sometimes it’s clear that two images are made in quick succession. Other pairs seem unrelated, possibly having been taken some time apart and in different locations. In other cases, although the two images seem unrelated in terms of subject, location and viewpoint, a poetic link creates a connection. This could be related to a particular quality of light, a compositional link, a colour or related atmosphere.

Quote

The way in which he combines the images in Two-Frame Films shows that Fowler is first and foremost a filmmaker, creating a narrative of, and an interaction between, multiple images. These new narratives created by the diptychs, question photography’s reliability as a way of documenting ‘real’ life in a single, still frame. He shows us how we can create a story, or tell our own story, through combining the chance fragments as exposed by photographs.
​- From the GUP website

Image Analysis

This image consists of two pictures with a black frame that surrounds them. The left image has been taken from a high level since it looks down upon the mountainous vast land. The right image has been taken inside a house. You can see that the front door has been broken since a part of the glass is missing which reveals a vivid red car on the other side. There is a connection between these two images. The right image represents being trapped indoors and seeking to go out on a road trip adventure since the broken glass reveals the desire to be outside. The left image depicts the outside world from above and shows the vast area of mountains which emphasises the amount of land there is to see and explore. Luke Fowler’s work explores the relationship between two juxtaposed images to affect the ways in which a viewer engages with the work. The diptych of the two still images enables us to explore the visual dialogue between them.