Has film been supplanted by digital photography? Over & Over, an upcoming exhibit by Signe Constable and Tristan Narraway, proves there is room for both – even in today’s overwhelmingly digital world

Their pictures go on display in the Rick Faries Gallery at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art on February 7.

The title reflects the theme of the show’s pieces: Signe’s double exposures and Tristan’s hand-cut and digital collages inspired by nature.

“Featuring the distinctive works of Signe Constable and Tristan Narraway, this exhibition examines the delicate intersections of nature and architecture, film and technology, offering a layered exploration of repetition, transformation, and the evolving relationship between the organic and the constructed,” reads their artist statement in part.

“Over & Over is an immersive reflection on how we experience the world in an age of constant change.”

Both artists fell in love with photography as children. At 13, Tristan was already sharing their skills with students at the Bermuda National Gallery. Signe, meanwhile, holds the distinction of being the youngest artist to exhibit in the Bermuda Biennial, when only 19 years old.

It was a feat she had unconsciously worked towards from about the age of 14 when she thought about career opportunities and realised “photography was where I wanted to go”.

She began shooting digital images but in recent years has shifted her focus to film, the medium she used for Over & Over.

“What I love about digital is that you can take a million pictures and choose the best one, which is why I still shoot lots of things digitally,” she said. “It's a huge plus but what I felt at that time was that I wasn't planning things as well – because I knew that I could take a million and choose the best one.”

Film was a way of ensuring she took the time to plan her shots more carefully.

“What I’ve been working on recently, which is what a lot of the pieces are in the show, is double exposures. That’s where you have two images shot on the same part of the film, so they intersect together,” she explained.

“Especially with double exposures, you just don't fully know how they're going to merge together. So essentially, I plan and I hope that they're going to turn out the way I want.”

Signe is completely self-taught. At the age of 16 , he bought her first film camera because “it was cool” and through practice, learnt how to use it to achieve the best results.

“There's lots of incredible things online. There's lots of people who do tutorials and talk about their trial errors,” she said.

“When I entered my first Biennial, it was really on a bit of a whim. I did not expect to be accepted. I wasn't sure if what I had was good enough. I liked it, obviously, and other people around me said they liked it but, you know, who knows what that means?”

The show’s opening at the Bermuda National Gallery in 2014 was “a huge thing” for the young artist. It helped her see that she “was on the right track” with her work and it had the bonus of connecting her with artists here.

Tristan remembers how, as a very young child, they would steal their mother’s camera and hide, snapping photos as she searched for them.

It led to “a keen interest” but their idea of a career as a photojournalist did not go down well with their parents.

“My family's very traditional and they wanted me to get an employable degree, which made sense. I kept doing photography and art throughout high school but I wound up going to university to study physics,” Tristan said.

“The whole time I was there, I was still using photography to create outlets. And my mom, bless her heart, got me a film camera in my first year.”

Developing their skills in a new area of photography proved interesting.

“Film is something you have to be very intentional with, especially in terms of exposing properly, having the settings right. And I think that it just really sparked something in me and stopped me from completely falling out of love with the art side of things.”

Back in Bermuda, Tristan got a job as a data analyst and “was miserable”.

Recognising the need for change, they teamed up with a creative friend who had a passion for video making.

“And then he, unfortunately, passed away, which was really sad,” they said.

For the past year Tristan has been working solo as a photographer full-time.

“Interestingly enough, I felt like I didn't have a creative outlet any more because my creative outlet had become my work and so I started making little collages out of the free books outside of Pals and I really enjoyed that.”

Tristan took a chance by responding to a call for entries for a Bermuda Society of Arts members’ show, submitting collages – some of which they created from their own photos.

“From there, things kicked off, not in a big way but in a hugely exciting way.”

The BSoA invited Tristan to join a group show and, before leaving for a fellowship programme in the UK, Jasmine Lee, the curator of the Rick Faries Gallery, encouraged collaboration with Signe. About 20 pieces will be on exhibit next month. Nature lies at the heart of Tristan’s creations.

“My work explores the layered nature of identity and memory, using lichen, fungi, and architecture to examine how growth, decay, and time shape both the world around us and our sense of self. These elements reveal how individuality and connection blur, challenging rigid definitions of identity,” they explained.

“Signe was already working on a series that involved double exposures and layering and so from that, I think we just kind of latched on to layers as our connecting theme. Even though the mediums are very different, we had very similar ideas, very similar kinds of messages that we were trying to convey - it was surprising for two people who didn't create a show entirely together, there was a lot of overlap that we found.”

• Over and Over opens on February 7 at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art and runs until March 4. Signe Constable and Tristan Narraway will host an artist talk on February 13 from 5.30pm until 7pm. Admission is free for members; $10 for non-members. Register here:masterworksbermuda.org/event/artist-talk-over-over/