Liverpool Makers Bazaar is home to a diverse community of talented creators, each with a unique story and craft. In this feature series, Pauline Neville shines a spotlight on the makers behind the stalls, uncovering the passion and dedication that fuel their work. This time, we meet Ged of Savage Directions, an artist whose journey into cyanotype photography is as captivating as his artwork.
Join us as we explore Ged’s artistic evolution, his inspirations, and how he turned a fascination with abandoned buildings and urban photography into a thriving creative practice.
Ged is the driving force behind Savage Directions, his small business producing beautiful cyanotype artwork. Each piece produced is 100% him, he takes the original photo, treats the paper with chemicals, times the exposure and finishes the piece all by hand. As nothing is scanned or digitally reproduced each piece is unique even if produced from the same negative.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Ged always had an interest in art. He has had no formal art or technical training but has a long held interest in drawing and painting, spending hours painting Airfix kits and WarHammer Models. His interest in photography began at a young age, tinkering with disposable cameras and polaroids.
Some ill health prevented Ged from getting out and about as much as he would have liked but then his interest in photography was rekindled. He became part of a group of likeminded urban explorers who invited him to join them on their travels discovering abandoned buildings. He found these interesting as subjects for photography and for their history.
As subject matter, he found such buildings fascinating as they held so many opportunities to consider composition. He also enjoyed overcoming the technical challenges to be met when working with very basic equipment. Capturing an image inside a building using a secondhand camera with a very basic lens, when the windows were covered in plants, for example, experimenting was a must.
From here Ged began to expand his interest into street photography focusing on a wider range of buildings. We spoke about the beautiful facades to appreciate in Liverpool City Centre once people lift their gaze above ground level where generic shop fronts often offer only repetitive, corporate identities.
“People must remember to always look up.” he concluded.
About 2 years ago, shopping at a makers market in Liverpool city centre, he came across Rachel of Little Vintage Photography. She was displaying her photography alongside cyanotypes, and they had an interesting chat about the versatility of cyanotypes and how broad the application of the process could be. Intrigued, Ged bought a starter kit from her and his journey began.
After he experimented with silhouettes of plant matter and drawing on negatives, he was hooked! Having just left a three-year job in a climbing centre, he was in the happy position to be able to fall into a new hobby and here it was. Having time to explore the possibilities proved to be a gift, as it offered Ged the ability to research all the technical information required as well as good old hands on trial and error.
An essential ingredient of the process is sun or UV light. Ged soon found that living in a terraced house in Liverpool, this was in short supply. He advised that there was effectively a golden hour when the sun was at its highest, around midday when the process would work effectively. This limited how much work he could produce and made it hard to predict the outcome as the quality of light was inconsistent. Happily he developed a work around; his “Sun Box”.
He explained that this comprised a box lined with a reflective surface housing UV lights, voila instant sunshine on tap! Now he could create his artwork any time he pleased.
With this, he could really throw himself into it. He began exploring mixed media, taking his original photographs and then by painting or foiling onto them or using gold leaf he was able to enhance the original image and make it even more interesting.
Before he knew it, a year and a half had gone by and he had more artwork piling up than he could shake a stick at. What to do with it? His wife encouraged him to push himself out of his comfort zone and book a market stall. He had his first stall at The Old Police Station on Lark Lane and was happy to find how friendly and supportive the other stallholders were.
He enjoyed the atmosphere and meeting like minded people on both sides of the table. He found that more experienced traders offered advice on displaying his work. Being new to market trading he paid attention to how other sellers were approaching customers and developed his own unique selling style. He became aware that customers can often enjoy the story behind the artwork as much as the piece itself.
His work was very well received and he made sales and received much encouragement so was motivated to attend several other markets developing a sense of where his work is appreciated and he feels happiest and he gained in confidence with each event. He has also entered and sold work at open exhibitions.
Now he has established his home studio he is currently developing a new area in which to take his art but that’s still under wraps! But with fresh ideas in mind, the space and experience to achieve them and a new baby on the way, Ged certainly has a lot to look forward to.
If you would like to see more of his work or talk about commissions Ged can be contacted at @savagedirections on instagram or via email at [email protected].
Or come and meet Ged in person for a chat @LiverpoolMakersBazaar at The Old Police station on Sunday 9 March.
