PLATFORM ispleased to present Full Circle: The circular image revisited by Victoria-based artist Bob Preston.

For the past two years, Bob Preston has been photographing with self-constructed cameras, which are similar to the first Kodaks from the 1890s in that they take circular images, have fixed focus lenses, one shutter speed, one aperture, and no viewfinder. The lenses he uses come from various old disposable cameras, are usually sharp in some spots and less sharp in others, and tend to distort around the edges. Apart from pinhole cameras, they are the most basic of cameras.

Preston was compelled to build his own cameras as he wanted to capture the full viewing area of the lens, and thereby produce a circular image. Intuitively, he felt that a circular image might be more engaging than the now ubiquitous rectangle format, in that the circular image is more reflective of how the human eye works. The artist finds the circular image not only liberates him compositionally, but it liberates the viewer from the cultural contrivance that a photograph must be cropped at right angles.

The work Preston is presenting at Platform is a collection of black and white fibre based silver prints, all taken with self-made cameras. The artist will also present a lecture that will address the reasons why he began building his own cameras and touch on the construction of the cameras using slides and actual cameras as references.