William Ropp//

Placing his subjects in absolute darkness during extended exposures, he uses a flashlight to paint a magical effect of illumination and shadow in what he calls ‘The dance of light’. ”My pictures were influenced by my career as a director at the theatre, where I struggled to liberate myself from theatrical expression. This continued until I stopped using actors as models, replacing them with ordinary people I met.” Ropp often works in a studio, using a powerful torch as illumination, forcing him to expose for as long as ten minutes. In the darkness the models have little to focus on, and their stare is redirected towards the viewer. Seemingly coming from a different time, these human beings unify ancient mysteries and timeless questions in their appearances.

William Ropps images takes us to different levels of reality and invites the viewer to occupy with the anthropological question of being and non-being. Following his Grandfathers footsteps to Mali, Afrika, he takes the viewer on a new adventure.  The Mali people are in outstanding landscapes and waterworlds reveiling a strange world full of mystery. In his portraits of children their facial expression does not fit in the presentation of the ever-cheerful child. The viewers childhood emotions and memories might be awakened. He  uses photography not to show the reality manner, in fact he is in the search of the fascination of imaginary. His photographs raise questions. Whether there is an answer is for the viewer to decide.

Ropp produces his own richly toned, traditional gelatin silver prints. His photographs have been exhibited extensively in museums and galleries around the world, and his work has been published in several books including one devoted to the Children series,  a twenty-year retrospective, Dreamt Memories of Africa, and recently Faces

 

William Ropp is represented by Ellen-K Fine Art Photography [www.ellen-k.no]