Dillon Marsh was born in Cape Town (1981) and continues to live there today. Marsh received a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from the University of Stellenbosch. During the course of his studies he was drawn to photography and has remained passionate about it ever since.
Marsh has long been intrigued by themes that touch on environmentalism and our relationship with the world around us. His work has often isolated and emphasised specific features of a particular landscape, from suburban areas to more desolate rural scenes – usually elements that illustrate how we engage both deliberately and unintentionally with the world around us.
Apart from Marsh’s personal artistic endeavours, he also worked as a professional retouch artist and is experienced in the post production of photographs. “There’s often a stigma attached to Photoshop, as some say it’s used to create misleading images, but I think that if it’s used carefully it can significantly enhance photographs,” comments Dillon. Recently he has also begun introducing computer generated imagery into his photographs in an attempt to reveal underlying features or dynamics that he wouldn’t be able to show with photography alone. “Although my methods are sometimes quite involved, I like to produce artworks that are visually striking and uncomplicated.”
Marsh’s latest series, For What It’s Worth, was born out of his own curiosity about what a mine’s output in precious metals or stones would look like when visually juxtaposed with the mine itself. He started by exploring the copper mines of Namaqualand and the series soon grew to include diamond mines in the Northern Cape as well. More recently he has looked at the gold fields of the Witwatersrand Basin and the production of platinum group metals on a national scale.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
2003 BA Fine Arts, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Solo Exhibitions
2014
Gallery MOMO, Cape Town, South Africa
2012
Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
2011
AVA Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Group Exhibitions
2014
Saatchi Gallery, London, England
Documenting Fiction, Lagos, Nigeria
Johans Borman Fine Art Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2013
Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal and Paris, France
POPCAP’13, Piclet.org, Basel, Switzerland, Dublin, Ireland and Lagos, Nigeria
Noorderlicht, Drenthe, Netherlands
David Krut Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
2012
Gallery MOMO, Cape Town, South Africa
Krut Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
2011
AVA Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Workshop Gallery, Parkwood, Johannesburg, South Africa
2010
Spier Contemporary, City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
2008
Sasol New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa
Articles
United Kingdom
– Orr G. “Photographer Dillon Marsh captures man-made palm trees that disguise mobile-phone towers”, April 2015, in The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/photographer-dillon-marsh-captures-manmade-palm-trees-that-disguise-mobilephone-towers-10182052.html
– Alderson R. “Dillon Marsh visualises how much copper was produced in South African mines”, August 2014, in It’s nice that magazine
http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/dillon-marsh-for-what-its-worth
South Africa
– Heil A. “Dillon Marsh on Photography and Travel”, 2014, in Cape Town Magazine
http://www.capetownmagazine.com/arts-culture/dillon-marsh-on-photography-and-travel/104_22_17531
– Wallace L. “Dillons Marsh at Brundyn”, December 2014, in Cape Town Etc
Italy
– Azzarello N. “Dillon marsh places copper spheres in arid mining landscapes”, April 2014, in Design Boom
dillon marsh places copper spheres in arid mining landscapes
United States
– Starr B. “How Much Material Comes From Copper and Diamond Mines? This Much.” August 2014, in Visual News
http://www.visualnews.com/2014/08/20/much-material-comes-copper-diamond-mines-much/
– Rhodes M. “These Giant Copper Orbs Show Just How Much Metal Comes From a Mine” March 2014, in Wired
http://www.wired.com/2014/09/these-giant-copper-orbs-show-just-how-much-metal-comes-from-a-mine/
– Kim M. « Interview with Dillon Marsh », 2014, in the Raw Book
http://www.therawbook.com/2014/10/15/dillon/
– Erin Greer L. “Dillon Marsh Investigates South Africa’s Cell Phone Towers Disguised As Trees”, June 2013, in Beautiful Decay
http://beautifuldecay.com/2013/06/06/dillon-marsh-investigates-south-africas-cell-phone-towers-disguised-as-trees/
– Mosbergen D. “World’s Largest Bird Nests: Photographer Dillon Marsh Snaps Social Weaver Homes In South Africa”, February 2013, in Huffington Post
– http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/25/worlds-largest-bird-nests-dillon-marsh-social-weaver-south-africa_n_2760633.html
– Jobson C. “Massive Bird Nests Built on Telephone Poles in Southern Africa are Home to Multiple Species of Birds”, February 2013, in Colossal
Massive Bird Nests Built on Telephone Poles in Southern Africa are Home to Multiple Species of Birds
Videos
South Africa
– “Dillon Marsh on his photographic series “For What It’s Worth””, 4:25 minutes, May 2014, in News 24
Awards
Timo Smuts Prize Exhibition (Winner fine art category)