VW CAMPER OBSCURA TOURS THE SOUTH WEST AND WALES
For many people, the Camper Van has become a symbol of opting out of normal everyday life; even if just for a few days, and finding a way to live differently away from the normal day to day issues that define our existence.
Perhaps because of the sense of exploration, which the camper van has come to embody, it is very much at the forefront of thinking in Plymouth at the moment. One example is Camper Obscura, a mobile camera obscura housed inside a 1986 VW T25 camper, run by FOTONOW (a socially driven arts organisation based in Plymouth) as means to introduce the fundamentals of photography to those that hop inside. Visitors have remarked, “it is like climbing inside a giant camera!” The project is inspired by the work of photographer Daniel Meadows that toured Britain in the 1970s and offers photographers Jonathan Blyth and Matthew Pontin (FOTONOW Creative Directors) the chance to offer a unique experience to those that come across their mobile camera obscura project. Matt Pontin told us, “along its journey we not only meet some fantastic people and make some interesting documentary photographs – Camper Obscura quite literally allows us a vehicle to involve other young artists in day to day running, their support is invaluable”.
If you missed the fantastical Camper Obscura at BoardMasters (12th-15th August), worry not, you can catch it at Green Man Festival (18th-22nd August), IvyLive (9th-11th September) and at PhotoMonth at Spitalfield Market (8th October).
Words: Alan Butler
