User:Ian Llewelyn

Ian is self-taught in photography but began night classes, in Llanover Hall Cardiff, to print his photographs of Proto-Faust Welsh language kraut- rock band 'Y Fflaps' while on tour in the former state of Czechoslovakia.

The work was well received and the portfolio enabled Ian to enrol on the part- time Photography Studies degree at Clarence place, Newport.

In November 1998 he was inaugurated into the Thursday club. He says he can't remember what happened at the end, or the beginning and admits the middle bit is a bit hazy. Ian claims to know the location of the Kodak Rat.

He was the last surviving member of the Part-time Photography studies BA before he decided he had enough.

While waiting to recommence his studies in fine art, he spent 40 days  working in the wilderness of the 7th floor of British Gas where he sold electricity on the telephone. One day Ian fell out of his chair and never went back. He still received 3 months sick pay.

Taking influences from the writings of Iain Sinclair, Marc Auge and the land art documentation of Robert Smithson,  Ian completed his degree in fine art with  large format colour prints of  the homogeneous non-space of Cardiff developments including an installation-room filled with a continuous loop of super 8 film. His dissertation was an examination of the relationship between documentary- style photography and Conceptual Art.

After graduating, Ian taught at Cardiff Metropolitan University and curated student exhibitions at Butetown Arts Trust. Ian also began leading  photography courses on Flatholm Island. It was there, while he was teaching a couple of clowns called Paddy and Andrew, the nature of photography, he coined the term, "the indecisive moment".

Unsure whether photographs take him or he takes the photographs, in 2002 Ian began studying for his MA in fine art. Ian's work concentrated on the traum/dream state and the nature of memory and entropy in narrative fiction. His thesis examined the influence of the films of Alfred Hitchcock on contemporary art

Ian unwinds by riding his bicycle on Saturdays, and might stop the following Thursday.

Ian is so enamoured by the European ideal he goes on holiday with his retro Tour de France bicycle, measures distance in "kays" and listens to ye-ye music, but only when it's hot enough.

Ian is a second-dan black-belt in dad-jokes. He enjoys experimental cooking,  but had huge row with his girlfriend when he put ginger in the curry. She loved that cat.