The Schrank Camera

The Schrank Camera is a simple device that allows the mixing of painting and photographic techniques.

Artist and photographer Gavin Stokes (developer of the Schrank Camera) lives and works in Wellsford, New Zealand.

About the Schrank Camera

The Schrank Camera gets its name from the German word for cabinet, whose origins date back to the 18th century.

A cabinet of curiosities was often home to a collection of unusual objects brought back from far-off lands.

An early 18th-century German Schrank with a traditional display of corals. (picture: LoKiLeCh)

The Schrank Camera (also based on a cabinet design) allows subjects to be shot through a painting or other translucent material. This gives the images their unique painterly or abstract feel.

The idea for the camera was originally developed from experiments with through-the-viewfinder photography and pinhole cameras.

About the artist

Gavin Stokes has a professional background in photography and design. He is currently exploring the still life genre, working with traditional and familiar objects, incorporating abstract paintings and paper textures.

Many of the objects that appear in Schrank Camera photographs come from the beaches North of Auckland and opportunity shops from around the Rodney district.

For more information email gavin:

gavin[at]gavinstokes.com

or phone +64 9 950 4770