Photographer Rowan Corr on home robots: ‘We know they’re listening’
We look through the lens of photographer Rowan Corr, who was sent deep into the world of home robots for our December 2021 Design & Technology Issue
London-based Rowan Corr's early work on fashion editorials and lookbooks, shot almost entirely on film, is a far cry from the slick still lifes he creates using high-end digital equipment today. Corr graduated from London College of Fashion, but it was his time working for Mr Porter and Burberry that set him on track for his current contemporary approach. For Wallpaper’s December 2021 issue, Corr turned his analytical eye to tech, creating a conceptual visual response to our story on the rise of the home robot.
Wallpaper*: Describe your style and process
Rowan Corr: I would describe my work as clean, sharp and abstract, but also completely real. Recently, I’ve been treating my work as more of an investigation into an object: its form and texture and how it interacts with the space and colours that surround it. It’s literal, it’s graphic and there is a formula to it, but I always try to consider each piece individually so that each photo takes on its own identity.
W*: Tell us about how you brought your way of working to our home robots story
RC: This was a cool concept to interpret as we increasingly live our lives at home surrounded by these ‘smart’ tech devices. For this piece, I wanted to shoot them in an abstract yet minimal setting whilst subtly inserting other objects from the home to allude to the idea of surveillance. I applied my prescribed style, but I also wanted to use light to emphasise something sinister about the objects. The devices are almost silhouettes, but we see their lights are on and we know they’re listening.
W*: What do you think is the most interesting thing happening in photography now?
RC: Continuing on the topic of artificial intelligence, I’m interested in seeing how its role within photography grows. For example, software that uses AI to upscale images. Capabilities like that were unimaginable to me when I started out.
In the same vein, I’m more and more interested in CGI, the sophistication of animations and renders built using software like Cinema 4D and Unreal Engine, and how it continues to advance. My work takes inspiration from CGI renders; looking at a hyper-real image and not knowing how it was produced is something that interests me, and has brought me to the place I am at now in my process.
W*: What’s on your radar?
RC: Kit Grill’s latest album Fragile has been on heavy rotation recently.
W*: What’s next for you this year?
RC: I feel like this year is wrapping up, but in the meantime, I’d love to see my work in a new context and start experimenting with different print processes. Most of my work focuses on picking up tiny details, so it would be great to work with scale and see how far I can push it.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Who knows what will present itself in 2022, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
INFORMATION
As Photography Editor at Wallpaper*, Sophie Gladstone commissions across fashion, interiors, architecture, travel, art, entertaining, beauty & grooming, watches & jewellery, transport and technology. Gladstone also writes about and researches contemporary photography. Alongside her creative commissioning process, she continues her art practice as a photographer, for which she was recently nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Award. And in recognition of her work to date, listed by the British Journal of Photography as ‘One to Watch’.
-
As London’s V&A spotlights Mughal-era design, Santi Jewels tells of its enduring relevance
‘The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence’ is about to open at London’s V&A. Here, Mughal jewellery expert and Santi Jewels founder Krishna Choudhary tells us of the influence the dynasty holds today
By Hannah Silver Published
-
London bar Bauhaus Warehaus is a factory by day, drinking den by night
Mixologist of the moment Remy Savage shakes up the world of cocktail-making with a hardworking sibling to A Bar with Shapes for a Name, his Bauhaus-inspired bar enterprise in east London
By Neil Ridley Published
-
Copper piping turns contemporary lighting: the twist in JamesPlumb’s designs at Gallery Fumi
Design studio JamesPlumb presents sculptural copper chandeliers and floor lights in its solo exhibition 'Rooted' at Gallery Fumi (until 25 January 2025)
By Ali Morris Published
-
Felicia Honkasalo on creative obsessions, gothic horror, and the sci-fi world of AI photography
Explore the vision of Helsinki-based artist Felicia Honkasalo in ‘Through the lens’, our monthly series spotlighting photographers who are Wallpaper* contributors
By Sophie Gladstone Published
-
Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in flux
We interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show, ‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations (until 8 January 2023). Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, he dissects the human obsession with structural restoration
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Year in review: top 10 art interviews of 2022, chosen by Wallpaper* arts editor Harriet Lloyd-Smith
Top 10 art interviews of 2022, as selected by Wallpaper* arts editor Harriet Lloyd-Smith, summing up another dramatic year in the art world
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Yayoi Kusama on love, hope and the power of art
There’s still time to see Yayoi Kusama’s major retrospective at M+, Hong Kong (until 14 May). In our interview, the legendary Japanese artist vows to continue to ‘create art to leave the message of “love forever”’
By Megan C Hills Last updated
-
Antony Gormley interview: ‘We’re at more than a tipping point. We’re in a moment of utter crisis’
We visit the London studio of British sculptor Antony Gormley ahead of his major new show ‘Body Field’ at Xavier Hufkens Brussels
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Last updated
-
Photographer Maisie Cousins on nostalgia, impulsive making and ‘collecting useless things’
Explore the vision of British artist Maisie Cousins in ‘Through the lens’, our monthly series spotlighting photographers who are Wallpaper* contributors
By Sophie Gladstone Last updated
-
Rashid Johnson in Menorca: a journey through migration, longing and togetherness
We visited Rashid Johnson’s Brooklyn studio ahead of the artist’s show at Hauser & Wirth Menorca, which contemplates drift – physical and emotional
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Step inside the kaleidoscopic universe of Pipilotti Rist
Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist, who headlines Wallpaper’s November 2022 issue, has transformed the way we see, with a poetic yet playful practice spanning three decades. Here, and in a special portfolio, she reveals how she has liberated video art from its conventions, imbued the digital realm with emotion, animated public spaces, and harnessed the healing powers of colour
By Jessica Klingelfuss Last updated