Inspire me
Meet Bleach Box
We’ve been chatting to the dynamic duo behind Bleach Box Photography Gallery, Eleanor Jordan and Richard Heeps, for the latest in our ‘meet the galleries’ series. They’ve shared some insights about their personal art collection and how they use art to bring their home to life. Read on to discover which photographer and art institution has had the biggest impact on them and much more!
Affordable Art Fair
Monday 14 August, 2017
We’ve been chatting to the dynamic duo behind Bleach Box Photography Gallery, Eleanor Jordan and Richard Heeps, for the latest in our ‘meet the galleries’ series. They’ve shared some insights about their personal art collection and how they use art to bring their home to life. Read on to discover which photographer and art institution has had the biggest impact on them and much more!
1. TELL US A BIT ABOUT BLEACH BOX PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY?
Eleanor: Bleach Box began in 2008. Richard Heeps & Natasha Heidler had gradually built up an impressive darkroom studio in Cambridge where we work with our artists to release fine art limited edition photography. We participate in Art Fairs, this year a calendar of ten, as well as participating in pop-up exhibitions and collaborating with other galleries all around the world.
2. DESCRIBE THE SORT OF WORK WE WOULD TYPICALLY FIND ON YOUR STAND AT OUR FAIRS AND THAT YOU NOW HAVE AVAILABLE IN OUR ONLINE SHOP?
Eleanor: We have a mixture of themes, landscape, portrait & still life, but generally our aesthetic is quite conceptual and one piece links to another. On the stand our display is high impact with lots of colour, a dreamy cinematic feel with artworks which connect with the audience triggering memories of the past. The artwork is hand printed limited edition photography price from £65 – £2,000, making it accessible for all visitors to the art fair and perfect for interior design projects.
3. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT TAKING PART IN OUR FAIRS?
Richard: Having participated in Affordable Art Fairs in Europe, America and Asia there are many memorable moments. I have always been so excited entering the new venues for the first time because they are often interesting buildings in their own right and as an artist myself it is a dream come true to show my work in these places. But for the most memorable I will never forget the buzz of our first Affordable Art Fair Battersea.
4. WHAT’S YOUR MOST RECENT ADDITION TO YOUR ART COLLECTION AND WHICH ARTWORK COULDN’T YOU LIVE WITHOUT?
Eleanor: I bought a print of ‘A Bigger Splash’, from the Hockney exhibition at Tate Britain. When I first met Richard one of the first things I said was that his piece ‘Motel Desert Shores’ reminded me so much of Hockney’s ‘A Bigger Splash’.
I have an Ai WeiWei Sunflower Seed which I brought from Jealous Gallery a few years ago. It’s so small and subtle it fits in anywhere and I love thinking about the meanings behind the work and who doesn’t love the idea of a big beautiful sunflower which comes to mind when you look at it.
5. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR OWN INTERIORS STYLE, AND HOW DO YOU USE ART TO ENHANCE YOUR HOME
Richard: We live and work in a studio so it is all consumed by our work. There are hooks all over the walls and artwork is always rotating in combination with postcards, posters and bits and bobs collected here and there.
If we were to stylise our home it would look mid 20th Century, minimal and Scandinavian.
6. WHO’S YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY HERO AND WHY?
Richard: Wright Morris. Because he has this perfect mix of documentary, art and his own personal expression. He also has the skill of being a photographer and being a novelist. I came across him in 1986 and felt a sense of admiration and kinship.
7. WHICH ART INSTITUTION HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?
Richard: The Fitzwilliam Museum in my hometown of Cambridge. The building is so impressive but once inside feels small enough to take it all in, but still each time you visit you find something new.
8. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE ART MARKET IN OUR RAPIDLY EXPANDING DIGITAL WORLD?
Eleanor: The web is ever increasing and the globalisation is exciting, a worldwide reach from our studio means that someone in Honolulu who we’ve never met can watch a little video of our practice. I hope this means that people who otherwise wouldn’t have thought to visit art events will become engaged and want to attend events like the Art Fairs.
Main image:
Bleach Box stand at an Affordable Art Fair NYC.
Images from top to bottom:
Richard pictured at an Affordable Art Fair.
Eleanor pictured at an Affordable Art Fair.
Bleach Box featured artworks available to buy online:
Dream in Colour Pool Installation, 150x130cm, £1,200.
Heidler & Heeps Vinyl Collection, 130x130cm, £1,200.
Vetyver Pool, 115x95cm, £1,295.
Book, 95x95cm, £1,295.
