Eva Worobiec
Introduction
A trained linguist, Eva sought a creative outlet to her teaching career via the medium of photography. She has been a member of the Royal Photographic Society since the 1980s and gained her Fellowship in colour prints in 1994. Although her images are largely pictorial, her most recent project documented aspects of depopulation in the high plains of America and led to a joint book with her husband, Tony, entitled “Ghosts in the Wilderness: Abandoned America”.
Eva's philosophy
Since her teenage years Eva always had a strong interest in contemporary art, and much of her earlier photography was shaped by a fascination with bold areas of colour which were to be found in sections of landscape, industrial estates and seaside resorts. After moving from the relative brashness of the Kent coast to Dorset in the late 1980s, she immersed herself in a more subtle study of flowers, presenting these in a highly abstract manner for her Fellowship print panel.
Although initially working in 35mm colour slides, Eva gradually came to appreciate the greater subtlety offered by colour negative film and the stricter discipline demanded by a change to a Mamiya 645 medium-format system. She particularly appreciates the easy handling which the Mamiya offers, plus the ability to use interchangeable backs. She now works exclusively with medium-format cameras, but scans her films and makes digital prints using archival inks.
In common with most Arena members, Eva derives greatest satisfaction from pursuing a photographic theme and has noticed that often a particular project develops organically and must have integrity. She is currently collaborating on another book with her husband documenting the changing character of small town America through the medium of capturing disappearing ‘icons’ such as motels, cinemas and diners at twilight. Whilst finishing research for “Ghosts in the Wilderness”, Eva and Tony noticed how rapidly the character of small town America was changing. Independent motels and cinemas, whose neon lights could often be seen from a mile away, were gradually being made redundant by large chain motel complexes or by multiplexes in out-of-town malls. For the past three years they have been photographing these hauntingly beautiful places before they completely disappear.
Photographers who initially influenced Eva’s approach were Joel Meyerowitz and Alfred Seiland, particularly the way in which they depicted the subtleties of twilight, capturing a crucial balance between the darkening sky and the neon lights. This time of evening is highly evocative of the paintings of Edward Hopper and a complete gamut of American films ranging from “American Graffiti” to “Walk the Line”. In capturing these scenes, Eva and Tony hope to celebrate an iconic aspect of American culture; the work will be published by AAPPL in early 2008.
Other ongoing projects include the landscape of Andalusia through the seasons, and aspects of the British coast – particularly in winter.