Footage: Reuben Wu, National Geographic; Animation: Rebekah Barlas, National Geographic
As a new team member here at
photo-eye, I am in a constant state of awe over the work I have the opportunity to
interact with while I’m in the gallery, and feel honored to meet the artists
we work with.
photo-eye's relationship with Reuben Wu began in
January 2019. That same year we mounted a solo exhibition
Aeroglyphs & Other Nocturnes here in Santa Fe and featured his work in our booth at Photo L.A. and
The Photography Show presented by AIPAD in New York. As I learn about the
incredible artists we represent, my favorite way to prepare for a blog post is
to dig up all the content the gallery has created in the past, and go through
the artist's website and social media. Seeing an artist's process excites me
and I LOVE finding behind-the-scenes content! For example, the photo-eye blog
introduced the portfolio Field of Infinity,
and in that post, we shared several photographs from the series alongside Wu's
sketches and planning notes, and a video of Wu's process in Bolivia. I've
linked that post and a couple interviews with Wu below.
Wu is a renaissance man to say the least. Prior to his fine art career, Wu
established a music career as a violinist, keyboardist, DJ, and music producer
for the popular electronic band Ladytron. In recent years Wu was selected to
be an ambassador for Phase One cameras and has become very well known in NFT
spaces, among other significant accomplishments.
A glance over my desk is greeted by LN 0377, from the series Lux Noctis by Reuben Wu, so, when we first learned about Wu's forthcoming National Geographic feature, we were thrilled for him. Although we wouldn't have predicted
the exact set of circumstances, we were also not entirely surprised.
For the August issue of National Geographic, "Stonehenge Revealed", Reuben Wu was tasked with photographing the iconic archaeological site at Stonehenge. The 40-page story includes images by Wu, covers how new technology is helping archeologists solve the mysteries of the origin of Stonehenge, and also looks into the unique challenges that face the ancient monument in modern times.
“As one of the most photographed landmarks in the world, I knew I needed to show Stonehenge in a way it has never been seen before. In this 25 multiple exposure time-lapse and image, the massive stones are lit from above by a powerful light, attached to a drone. With this kind of lighting, I was able to bring a new, unfamiliar atmosphere to the monument, one that felt timeless, and spoke to the potency and ancient lore of the site.” — Reuben Wu
Reuben Wu
uses man-made lights attached to drones to illuminate monumental landscapes
found in locations spread across the world, in gestures that parallel both
the ancient symbols of petroglyphs and the explorations of the land art
movement in the 1970s. He uses contemporary technology to interact with the
landscape in a way that flows in continuity with the eternal human impulse
to document our presence. Wu’s approach, however, is ephemeral and leaves no
lasting detrimental effect on the land. The photograph becomes a lasting
mark. And for Wu, the actual symbols drawn in the air by the drones have no
specific meaning in and of themselves. The work is more about pointing to
that sense of compressed time, using light and long-exposure photography to
mark and record a transitory human presence in the landscape, inviting
viewers to think about humanity’s place in the vastness of our planet’s
history.
Below, you’ll find the link to the interview between NatGeo and Wu that explores the artist's process on-site and includes some behind-the-scenes videos.
>>>How the spirit of ancient Stonehenge was captured with a
21st-century drone<<
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| Sunset brings peace but not quiet at Stonehenge, which is bordered by a busy highway. "One thing that was jarring, even at night, was the constant noise of nearby traffic," says photographer Reuben Wu, "I found myself imagining how the place would have felt thousands of years ago." (Reuben Wu/National Geographic; image made with 13 layered exposures) |
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| One of the world's iconic monuments, Stonehenge has been studied for centuries. Yet new technologies, says archaeologist Vince Gaffney, are "transforming our understanding of ancient landscapes – Even Stonehenge, a place we thought we knew well." (Reuben Wu/ National Geographic; image made with 11 layered exposures) |
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A sprawling ceremonial complex in its day, Stanton Drew boasted timber
circles, two avenues of standing stones leading to the nearby River
Chew, and one of the largest stone rings in Britain, some 370 feet in
diameter. Today 26 stones remain, and ground-penetrating radar has
revealed nine rings of timber posts. (Reuben Wu/National Geographic;
image made with 18 layered exposures)
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Discovered in 1925 from aerial photographs of a wheat field, Woodhenge
included six concentric rings of towering timbers, their locations now
marked by concrete pillars. Like nearby Stonehenge, the structure was
built to align with the rising sun on the summer solstice. (Reuben
Wu/National Geographic; image made with 5 layered exposures)
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Stonehenge's saga begins in the craggy hills of Wales, where
geologists have pinpointed Carn Goedog and nearby outcrops as the
source of most of the monument's bluestones. Why the builders hauled
two-ton stones 175 miles to Salisbury Plain has inspired many theories
but few rock-solid answers. (Reuben Wu/National Geographic; image made
with 15 layered exposures)
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Reuben Wu, National Geographic
>For more on this story, visit National Geographic's "Stonehenge Revealed"<
Thank you, Reuben, and congratulations on your first cover story!
photo-eye Gallery is proud to represent Reuben Wu.
For more information, and to purchase prints from Reuben Wu,
please contact Gallery Director
Anne Kelly or Gallery
Associate
Jovi Esquivel,
you may also call us at (505) 988-5152 x202