Retired Edge Hill lecturer launches first photo exhibition at HIVE coffee house in Blackpool on Thursday 5 May 2022

Ian Currie bought his first camera over 50 years ago, but lockdown kicked his passion for photography into overdrive.

The retired senior lecturer, who worked at Edge Hill University, had lost touch with his hobby over the years.

But an encouraging word at a workshop in 2019 gave him a boost.

He met Blackpool artist, Robin Ross, at an arts event organised by LeftCoast.

He said: “I had no idea if I was any good, but Robin took an interest in my work and told me to keep going.”

Ian, who used to run Sure Start Clifton children’s centre, at Mereside, Blackpool, started getting invited to HIVEArts networking events.

He soon found that meeting other creative people inspired him to do more with his hobby.

Ian has shown pieces of his work at the Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk, and the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool.

But on Thursday 05 May 2022 he opens his first solo exhibition at Blackpool HIVE coffee house.

The free launch event is at 5:30PM and then his work will be displayed for six weeks on the ground floor.

He said: “photography is exposing aspects of life that elude casual viewing - the fleeting, the furtive and the forgotten.”

And he found new ways of exploring his craft during lockdown – when he became fascinated by the abstract.

“I was really noticing textures and shapes, looking at really everyday things close up.

“Mundane things, like a swirl of toothpaste going down the plug hole. The shape and shadow it creates is ephemeral. You turn the tap on and it’s gone but you capture those moments that would normally go unnoticed.”

He’s showing four sets of 10 photos - each on a different theme. They include abstract, everyday items, people in public places, and ‘text and glory’ - a project that mixes words and images.

See Ian Currie’s exhibition, A Sense Of Exposure, at Hive coffee house on Church Street, Blackpool until 15 June.