Meet our campaign artist Jeff Robb

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Get to know Jeff Robb, whose fascinating lenticular artwork ‘Aperture 8 (Camille)’ is featured as part of our campaign for the 18th edition of Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam (9 – 13 October 2024, De Kromhouthal). We sat down with the London-based artist to find out more about his background, practice, creative process and more. Read on to hear from Jeff himself.

Hi Jeff. We’re so excited to feature your work in our 2024 campaign. To start, could you tell us how your journey into photography and holography began and what inspired you to continue exploring these mediums?

The first photographs I took were with a Polaroid camera in primary school, and I still have them. And then when I went to school, I had an amazing teacher who taught me how to develop film. I just fell in love with it very quickly and very deeply from a very early age and set up my own darkroom at home.

My father, who was a professor of fine art, a landscape painter and a keen photographer, very much didn’t want me to go to art school. During my interview to enter art school to study photography, the interviewees said: ‘You’re already a good photographer and a good printer. We might teach you to improve a bit over three years, but you already have the skills. Is there something else you could study?’ I mentioned I was good at biology and could study that instead. The interviewer suggested I do that, and my dad also pushed me to get a science degree. To please everyone, I studied botany at Leeds University, where I spent a lot of my time taking photographs in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and using the university darkroom. Although I have a science degree on paper, I somehow still managed to do a lot of photography. After fulfilling my parents’ wishes, I was then allowed to go to art school.

I studied at Loughborough University under Nick Phillips whom I met during a landscape photography exhibition that I had during my science degree. He provided me with a space to build a holography studio, which I did by following a book on the subject. Making holograms allowed me to apply to the Royal College of Art. It must seem a bit unusual to go from a science degree to art, but it was very refreshing for them to have a student with a science degree rather than another fine art degree student.

During my time at the Royal College of Art, they introduced a multiplexing system, allowing us to create holograms from a sequence of photographs rather than only from stationary objects. The College also had a pulse hologram studio that allowed you to freeze motion, enabling you to create holograms of people. There are things that traditional holography can do that nothing else can; the way it can manipulate light can produce unique images. In many ways, it’s a beautiful art form that only few people have properly explored. One problem is lighting, and another is that it is very expensive to make. Creating holograms requires a lot of patience and attention to detail. It is very technical and usually requires a completely vibration free environment with expensive isolation tables, laser, optics, etc. It is very difficult to pursue on your own, and you really have to want to do it. At College, they told us a holography student was 100 times more expensive than a painting student.

My father, my teachers at school, Walter Clarke and Jonathan Ross were all incredibly helpful in my path to becoming a full-time artist. Without this group of people, a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, it would have been impossible. It’s all serendipity, really.

Can you describe the technical process behind creating your lenticular pieces?

In a nutshell, the process involves either using a camera that moves along a track or using multiple cameras to capture different angles simultaneously. These images are then interlaced using software. Afterward, the interlaced images are printed and a lenticular lens (a plastic sheet containing many small ridges) is applied to create the three-dimensionality.

Think of it like crafting furniture. You start with raw materials—wood, for example—and either assemble it in a straightforward manner or with intricate detail, whether it’s a simple piece from IKEA or an elaborate Chippendale design. Both methods will yield a functional piece of furniture, but the craftsmanship and approach can vary greatly.

Similarly, creating lenticular photography can appear straightforward: take some pictures, interlace them, print them out, and add a lens. It sounds very simple, but to do it well is another thing. I mean, the most common type of lenticular photography is used to create images that switch between two images. I don’t do that at all.

How did you transition from analogue to digital and from holography to lenticular imaging?

In the early 2000s, I helped Chris Levine with his portrait of the Queen at Buckingham Palace. And that was really when digital photography came to a point where it could kind of match traditional 35mm photography.

Large format lenticular photography was made possible due to large format digital printers. I experienced the significant shift from traditional analogue methods, using silver halide photography, to digital cameras, large digital printers, specialist lenses and computer software. Lenticular photographs have been made for over 100 years, so it’s not a new technique, but the switch to digital made it more affordable and scalable. Now I can create pieces that are up to three by two meters, which is impossible with holography.

The ability to do large format printing myself and manipulate, change, and improve images became very important to me in developing artworks. Immersing myself in this process was transformative.

Your work ‘Aperture 8 (Camille)’ is featured in this year’s Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam campaign. Can you tell us more about this piece?

The piece ‘Aperture 8 (Camille)’ reflects my deep fascination with the body as a subject, which I find infinitely fascinating. Ansel Adams once said that ‘photography is an austere and blazing poetry of the real’, and I believe this kind of sums up the essence of photographing the human body. I just think that it is so intrinsically complex. And then, of course, it’s been the bread and butter of fine art for hundreds of years.

In this piece, the seemingly impossible becomes possible, making ‘Aperture 8 (Camille)’ a natural progression from my ‘Unnatural causes’ series. I’m constantly trying to reinvent photography of the figure by focusing on simple yet profound ideas.

It’s challenging to have good simple ideas because it’s very tempting to overcomplicate with props and backgrounds. In both the ‘Unnatural Causes’ and ‘Aperture’ series I’ve taken something incredibly simple – a body in a defined space – and explored it in three dimension. The aim was to create something that is both simple and sophisticated, allowing me to emphasise different body parts and experiment with light. I’ve worked with many models, each bring their unique shapes and dynamics to the project. Some are very proactive, while others require more direction.

Initially, the idea for the ‘Aperture’ series came from a sculpture I saw. A piece of wood with a hole in it, supported on a scaffold. Typically 3D pictures are shot horizontally to align with human vision. However, for this series, the camera system was used vertically and then rotated 90 degrees. So actually all the pictures give the illusion that the models are defying gravity with positions that are impossible to achieve in real life. Despite this, people perceive the images as completely normal and possible. The name ‘Camille’ refers to the name of the model.

What initially drew you to lenticular photography, and how has your approach to it evolved over the years?

My interest in lenticular photography has been driven by a desire to explore its diverse possibilities.  My goal is to push the boundaries of what lenticular photography can achieve and to continually evolve by exploring the medium’s full potential. Although I’m not sure if there’s a progression as such, I constantly seek to innovate and try not to repeat myself.

Recently, I’ve ventured into creating large-scale stainless-steel sculptures titled ‘Affinity’. Additionally, I’ve done a lot of abstract painting, and then transforming these into lenticular art. While this might not seem like a linear progression, it represents a shift in approach. Technically, I’ve gotten better and better; today, I use sophisticated multiple full frame, multiple camera rigs with computer control and highly accurate setups. These are things I couldn’t have done 20 years ago. So now I’m doing things which are much more difficult and more expensive, which in turn leads to higher-quality results.

Can you tell us more about your creative process?

I read many books on philosophy, psychology and physics. I think we’ve got so much yet to discover about the universe and matter. We still don’t fully understand concepts like time, light, our existence -how we got here – these fundamental questions fascinate me. When thinking about new ideas, I always find myself going back to these fundamentals and try to start with a completely clean slate each time.

The starting point is often books and reading. it’s very rarely other artists that would inspire me. I mean, there are some amazing artists out there, like James Turrell, who masterfully deals with light. The emotional response you get from being exposed to one of his pieces is unbelievable. But I’m not really influenced by other artists. I’m interested by ideas and then do a lot of thinking, drawing, writing, sketching and daydreaming.

I believe there’s so much irrelevant noise in the world and I strive to eliminate that noise in order to focus on what truly matters. From an artistic point of view, I am trying to get back to the rudiments and fundamentals. I try and simplify visual ideas and strip them back to their essence. Simplifying images gives the viewer space to invent, while complex images can be prescriptive.

As an artist, how does a typical day look like for you?

There really isn’t a typical day for me. One day I might spend reading, while another might involve a shoot. There are also things you have to do as an artist – sometimes I need to handle administrative tasks or work on commissions, such as the current project I have for a restaurant.

Each day is quite eclectic and rarely involves doing the same thing twice. I might not feel inspired for a few days, but then one morning I’ll decide it’s time to get into the studio and make it happen. I think the worst thing you can do is to force it. Sometimes, a day spent daydreaming or letting ideas percolate is just as valuable as a day of intense work.

What moment in your career are you most proud of?

I believe the best moment is always the one that’s yet to come. I know it might sound like a cliché, but it’s true for me. I’m not someone who dwells on the past, what drives me forward is the next thing to come.

That said, photographing Dr. Dre in LA was a significant experience and one of the highlights in my career.

What was the most memorable reaction of a person to your work?

I create art but I don’t sell it, so I don’t often have direct interactions with buyers. However, I do receive touching letters from people expressing their joy in owning my work. They often share how they discover something new in the work each time they look at it. Knowing that my art brings such pleasure and value to others is incredibly rewarding. What more can you want than that?

How would you describe Affordable Art Fair?

Many of my friends, who aren’t particularly engaged with the arts, have mentioned that they’ve bought an artwork at Affordable Art Fair. The fair effectively lowers the barriers and makes art more accessible to a broader audience. There’s something refreshing about the fair’s approach. I think it was genius for Will Ramsay to create this model and has successfully managed to democratize art. Unlike traditional fairs, where visitors might feel judged or pressured, Affordable Art Fair offers a more relaxed atmosphere.

Join us at the 18th edition of Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam (9 – 13 October 2024, De Kromhouthal) to see Jeff’s work up close at Envie d’Art Gallery’s stand.