From 50 visits throughout six months, with 130 hours of photographing, 30 hours of photo editing, and 20 hours of deliberating, Scott Gelston has finally found the 34 images that make up his exhibition.
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Gelston, a photojournalist and photographer for The Examiner, has this weekend launched his largest exhibition to date: Steel Vignettes.
It details Gelston’s half of a partnership with blacksmith Pete Mattila, as he created a sculpture for TasGas in 2015.
But, Gelston said, Steel Vignettes was less about the end product of the project, and more about the process itself.
In a deliberate move, there are no images of the finished sculpture included in the exhibition.
“There’s a little bit of mystery,” Gelston said.
When faced with the daunting task of whittling down thousands of photographs to a succinct, story-telling 33, Gelston said there was more to consider than just choosing pretty pictures.
“You’re looking for this individual artwork, but you’re also looking for this to tie together and tell a really good story,” Gelston said.
He bid farewell to pieces that he liked, individually, because they did not fit the aesthetic of the exhibition.
“It’s like making an album of music,” he said.
“It’s like making an album of music. You’re not just looking at individual hits.”
- Scott Gelston
“You’re not just looking at individual hits.”
The exhibition comes with a difference, as Gelston chose to print the images on aluminum panels, bringing them closer to their subject matter.
As the viewer moves around the space, the images changes – new textures, lights, and colours appear, which is just as Gelston planned.
Mattila visited the exhibition on Friday, for his opening night.
Interestingly enough, Mattila’s favourite shot did not even make the top-100 shortlist.
But once again, not because it was a bad image.
“That probably said something about the breadth of the project,” Gelston said.
As for Gelston’s favourite image?
It’s a candid shot, taken in the last week of the project, of Mattila heading into the workshop. The grin on his face is pure joy.
Steel Vignettes is on from now until May 7 at the Community Gallery, QVMAG, Inveresk
