Artist Dan Holdsworth on his new Continuous Topography display at Sunderland's NGCA

Internationally-renowned artist and photographer Dan Holdsworth’s Continuous Topography exhibition opened recently, and another solo exhibition, Spatial Objects, will open at NGCA, within National Glass Centre, in January 2019.

Dan has made his name through creating large-scale photographs and digital art characterised by innovative use of traditional photography techniques and has dedicated the last five years to creating both exhibitions.

Continuous Topography, will be at NGCA until January 6, 2019 and is his first moving- image work, after 20 years of working with large format analogue cameras.

He explained why he moved away from static imagery: “I started making the first moving image works using 3D modelling and point cloud models of limestone rock formations in the Swiss Jura in 2014, and have been developing these new Continuous Topography works, from photographic aerial surveys. “In that sense I haven’t moved away from the photographic images, and see the moving work as a natural extension of the still works.”

His new artwork has involved working in collaboration with academics, scientists and researchers: “I started working with the geology department at Northumbria University in 2011, and since 2014 I’ve been working closely with Geology PhD student Mark Allan. Over that time we have made several trips to the French and Swiss Alps to make photographic aerial surveys of mountains and glaciers using helicopters and drones.

“The process called ‘photogrammetry’ involves making a photographic survey of an area, taking hundreds of images.

“These photographs are then processed to create 3D models of the landscape and then I work with the models back in the studio to create the artworks, still and moving images.

“The intersection of art and science is something that I have explored in my work now for nearly two decades.”