Gnat, 2016

Digit­al pho­to­graph with flash, Derby­shire, UK

Pig­ment print

Vis­it­ors to the gal­lery were invited to ask the artist, Mar­cus Coates ques­tions that pre­oc­cu­pied them and struggled to answer them­selves. This pho­to­graph is his answer to the ques­tion, ​“Why have I not been ready to form a deep, equal and last­ing love?”

The fly­ing gnat is flattened and bleached by the flash, it’s unusu­al fea­tures high­lighted. It appears to resemble some­thing from a fairy tale. The illu­sion and the real­ity of this image are dif­fi­cult to recon­cile, is it pos­sible to hold both?