Bleach Box Gallery with artist Richard Heeps

Founded in 2007 by Richard Heeps and Natasha Heidler, in a world getting ever more saturated by digital photography, the Bleach Box gallery is a platform which celebrates the challenging images that could be created in their traditional darkroom.

What they create is a conceptual showcase, where one artwork is connected to another in some way, with photographs taken thirty years ago sitting alongside their most recent creations. They work with other artists to curate exhibitions and art fair booths which stand out in their environment, twice being awarded best booth at the Affordable Art Fair Milan, selected by an independent jury and announced by Artribune. 

Here we chat with Richard Heeps about his experiences of the art world..

Can you tell us your backstory and how you got into the art world?

I was inspired by childhood experiences of Sunday drives in The Fens, they were like a Safari as my parents took pictures on their Box Brownie of Fenland discoveries. As a child I participated in art shows and I won prize money, which was very exciting to get that feedback, it whet my appetite for creating and getting a reaction from my art.

I have a passion for preserving the past as many things are lost through change and photography is my tool to do that.

Initially on leaving school I did a mechanical engineering apprenticeship, although I enjoyed the making side of it, it gave me no artistic freedom, and it motivated me to achieve my dream of studying photography. I did a BTEC course at Mid-Cheshire College of Art and Design in Northwich, which was a great experience.

I had great tutors who understood me, and they gave me the creative tools and artistic freedom to develop my vision. My final college project on the BTEC was ‘Ordinary Places’, a series capturing people’s work and living spaces, a type of portrait without the people, in Britain in the late 1980’s, a time of life on the brink of huge change.

The series was exhibited at the Focal Point in Salford, and it led to an exhibition at the Photographers Gallery in London. I went on to study photography, animation, and film at the West Surrey College of Art and Design Farnham, where I developed a cinematic style to my work. Following my degree I connected with the Cambridge Darkroom Gallery, I was employed as a photography tutor and their creative support gave me structure to continue creating artwork for exhibitions, including a bursary, towards my series ‘A View of the Fens from the Car with Wings’ which exhibited there and was then turned into a touring exhibition. 

I have exhibited in museums and galleries, both personal work and commissioned work which created connections and took me on paths of various subjects all in the theme of preservation. In the year 2000 I was awarded a Arts Council Year of the Artist grant of which I created ‘36 Minutes in Cambridgeshire’, following the Meridian Line taking a photograph for every minute of latitude.

When commercial photography labs moved to digital, I acquired a lot of darkroom equipment to set up my own darkroom to continue making my prints in house which really expanded my creative output.

In 2007 I published my book Man’s Ruin with an Arts Council grant, compiling seven years of shoots in England, Europe, and America, a series of road trips which become a continuous journey of mid-century culture, people, and design. Colour is a central device to convey a spirit.  

The launch of the book coincided with starting my gallery Bleach Box with Natasha Heidler. For over ten years, we toured Art Fairs in Europe, America and Asia which was an amazing experience connecting with art lovers around the world. Through this I also made connections with many galleries who I have continued to work with, and who represent me both within their galleries and at events. 

Natasha and I have collaborated on double analogue series the Heidler & Heeps Vinyl Collection, Tape Collection and Stamp Collection which were a creative experiment as a result of years of work in the darkroom together.

Today, the internet is a tool I enjoy using to engage a worldwide audience. 

How would you describe your signature style and technique?

I see my role as a photographer as a method of preservation. I tend to draw people into the artwork with my use of colour, to bring their attention to details within a scene. I have a variety of subjects, portrait, still life, interiors, architecture, landscape, and pop art, but often people say they can tell it’s my work based on how I use colour and composition.

I print in the darkroom either full frame which has my signature painterly bleed edge or the film rebate. I am very particular about my film and paper choices to achieve the results I want.

Can you tell us more about your latest work / collection? Where did you find inspiration and what is the story behind it?

Many of my projects are ongoing and I am at a point where I am focused on tying up their loose ends. I photographed in America many times during 2000-2017, and I am working on a theme of déja vu, pairing a picture from America with a picture from the UK.

Having spent most of twenty years travelling I have been making the most of the great British staycation, building this déja vu series, photographing on the Essex, Sussex, and Welsh coast. I have been really pleased to achieve some works I have had in my mind for many years. I love the influence of the sea on British culture and capturing its reflection in its towns and seaside resorts.

I have a history of photographing vintage car culture and drag racing, and I’ve recently reconnected with that scene, photographing at the VHRA Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races which has then evolved to discovering a number of other subjects such as Porthcawl in South Wales which has a traditional seaside fairground which sadly is soon to be demolished soon much to the resident’s dismay, and the Kardomah Café in Swansea which is a step back in time.

Returning also to photograph Norfolk coastal resorts which I have always thought of as my local seaside and were an important location in my book Man’s Ruin. Many of these pictures I am creating are perfect for my déja vu theme.

I have more analogue camera equipment at my disposal than ever before and that is pushing me to capture things in a way that wasn’t possible before.

Are there any exhibitions or events you are planning?

In October my gallery Bleach Box will be taking part in the Affordable Art Fair Battersea 18^th – 22^ndOctober on booth J4. I will be exhibiting alongside Martin Parker and Alanna Eakin.

Please contact [email protected] to request complimentary tickets to attend the art fair.

I will be part of the SOTA Marketplace Exhibition at The Lab E20 10-15th October. Register for free tickets to attend on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sotas-accessible-art-fair-at-the-labe20-tickets-699022032717

I work with some great galleries around the UK who show my artwork all year round, Paxton + Glew in Brighton, Startle in Holt, Clifton in Bristol and George Thornton in Nottingham and Manchester.

I will also be at the Affordable Art Fair in Amsterdam, and Hamburg with the Goodwin Gallery.

What is the best advice you received as an artist?

At Mid-Cheshire College of Art and Design my tutor Paul Crompton suggested I shoot in colour. At the time colour photography was still uncommon. My sense of colour is something distinctive to me that I have become known for so I do often reflect on that advice.

For more information about Richard’s work and Bleach Box Gallery please visit bleachbox.co.uk

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