Bleach Box Gallery
2 Springfield Road, Cambridge, CB4 1AD
There is something of an alchemist about contemporary photographer Richard Heeps, founder of Cambridge-based Bleach Box Gallery. His bold analogue art, bursting with highly saturated colour, is both seductive and intriguing, painstakingly brought to life through darkroom techniques, without digital manipulation.
Heavily influenced by America, his striking artworks depict cool interiors, interesting buildings, and atmospheric landscapes, with eye-catching typography a recurring feature.
Richard launched Bleach Box in 2008 (with fellow photographer Natasha Heidler), the name a reference to the area where drag racers spin their tyres before a race. But his passion for photography stems back to childhood, when he’d spend weekends with his family driving around the Fens, capturing images on a Kodak Box Brownie. Richard went on to study photography, securing a touring show of the North West and an exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery in London.
After art college, he worked closely with Cambridge Darkroom Gallery on Gwydir Street, taught photography at Hills Road Sixth Form and spent seven years shooting images for his book, Man’s Ruin, a rejection of the modern world, with a gloriously nostalgic 1950s feel.
Though based in Cambridge, Bleach Box Gallery has a worldwide reach. Richard and gallery manager Eleanor Jordan have exhibited at hundreds of international art fairs, from Paris and Milan to New York and Singapore. They are now primarily an online gallery shipping artworks to clients around the world as well as taking part in Art Fairs and collaborating with galleries to pop up in the UK and Internationally.
With his mesmerising photography continuing to captivate, Richard’s next challenge is a new book, wrapping up his best-loved projects, from the east coast of America to the east coast of England. It promises to be a fascinating insight into life through a lens.