March 23rd 2002

This small exhibition, staged to coincide with the Royal Photographic Society's conference, Holography, Art & Design, is a showcase for a group of British-based holographers whose work has involved experiments with various techniques for the naturalistic representation of colour in holography.

Their backgrounds are various: Science, Technology, Fine Art; and their everyday concerns range from research and experimentation to the commercial application of holography.

The work exhibited here was not for the most part self-consciously produced as 'art' but represents a superb display of technique. "Of several techniques" one should say, as there are 'true-colour', 'pseudocolour' and 'achromatic' holograms in this selection as well as digitally mastered images derived from computer models.

Hans Bjelkhagen's true-colour work employs red,green and blue lasers and panchromatic emulsions to achieve the ultimate 'state of the art' in realism while Inaki Beguiristain's exquisitely executed pseudocolour holography is the result of multiple exposure and emulsion-swelling techniques. (He is also showing a 'rainbow' hologram recorded on a nickel shim such as would be used to emboss multiple copies on foil.)

Martin Richardson's 'Digital Head' hologram, made with Zebra Imaging in the USA, was digitally mastered and the resulting hologram is in essence made up of many small ones recorded in an automated step and repeat process on a polymer film.

Colour Holographics 'Moviposters' are sophisticated holographic stereograms, created from sequences of photographic images or computer-generated views, each frame having a red, green and blue master to create a full colour end product. Colour Holographics also coat their own holographic emulsions on glass, producing exceptionally clear results.

Spatial Imaging's Millennium Dome full colour computer-generated stereogram, here displayed as a multiple-image nickel embossing shim, was modelled by Jeffrey Robb and mastered on the company's Di-Ho system.

After many years looking at holograms which were predominantly green, orange or rainbow-coloured it is a great pleasure to experience a greater degree of verisimilitude in holographic imagery and I look forward to seeing more artists have access to these techniques in the future.

Jonathan Ross
March 2002