Giorgio Ciam, Mummery & Schnelle Gallery

During a trip to London, I visited the lesser-known Mummery and Schnelle Gallery. Here, I discovered the work of experimental photographer Giorgio Ciam, who produced blurred images through the movement of his subjects and a long exposure. This is in order to obscure the identity of those in his photographs who, I learned, are often the artist himself with a friend. 

This work is reminiscent of that of Francesca Woodman, whose well-known images were produced through similar processes to Ciam's. 
Using long exposures, Woodman's work (shown below) depicts the troubled artist in a series of disturbing nude self-portraits created in the lead up to her eventual suicide in 1981. In the majority of her images, it is evident that the artist is trying to hide away from the lens, to blend into her derelict surroundings, thus resulting in a type of "anti-portrait" in which the subject cannot always be seen. She achieves this, again, by using movement and blurring, as well as objects within her setting - such as peeling wallpaper, furniture and large photographs - to hide behind.

Although eerie and subsequently tragic, I find this work rather beautiful, with the surreal effect of long exposure giving them an ethereal quality.