Gerard Byrne: Gestalt Forms of Loch Ness, Grid, Site, Sequence

Gestalt Forms of Loch Ness, Grid, Site, Sequence (2012) was published by MK Gallery, UK/ Fondazione Galleria Civica Trento, and distributed by JRP|Ringier. This book draws on Byrne’s body of work relating to the myth of the Loch Ness monster, fuelled by the popular press of the 1930s, and the shift that developed, away from belief in the authority of the photographic image. As the viewer-reader progresses through the book the text and image layers become more entangled and a grid, normally employed as an organisational structure, serves as a means to interpolate images and text and introduce ambiguity. ‘Staged’ or contrived images: of populist literature spawned by the Loch Ness myth; material gathered from alleged sightings, remade sketches based on accounts of sightings; and photographs of newspaper accounts from the 1930s, are interwoven with photographic material from numerous site visits by the artist; and photographic material staging both artworks and reference material in the artists studio and darkroom.