Biography

Mike Roles

Born London

Education

Royal College of Art, PhD, Sculpture
Royal College of Art, MA, Photography
University of Westminster, Diploma in Photography
St Martins School of Art, National Diploma in Painting
Associate of The Royal British Society of Sculptors

1940's-1950's

Born London before moving to a small village in Buckinghamshire. Only child of Ella Dollery and David Roles.
Age 7, given first camera and learned to photograph friends, family, landscape.
From age 7 missed formal schooling as result of illness and parental negligence. Taught himself to paint and draw.
Various employment including apprenticeship to two High Wycombe photographers.
Worked as magazine photographer for Bugle Press.
Missed opportunity to work for fashion photographer Terence Donovan due to lack of driving license.
Worked as stills photographer in film industry for 1 year.
Parents divorced.
Studied GCE's at night school.

1960's

1962-3 High Wycombe School of Art, Intermediate NDD.
1963-66 St Martin's School of Art, Sculpture and Painting NDD.
1962-66 Paid for his art education by driving trucks in vacations and free time.
Read Colin Wilson's "The Outsider". Discovered work of Camus, Tennessee Williams, Nietzche, Sartre. Was also deeply affected by the music of Stravinsky, Bartok and the Avant garde.
Paintings influenced by Pop Art, Op Art and decadence of the "swinging '60's".
1966-68 Worked as mural designer for George Wimpey and Co.
1967 Married Diana Coleman and moved to Windsor, Berkshire.
1968- 69 Worked as filling station attendant and freelance photographer.

1970's

Painting exhibited at IBA exhibition, Mall Galleries, London *
Began teaching art, art history and photography to Further Education students in Windsor, Berkshire.
1973-77 Polytechnic of Central London Diploma in Professional Photography.
Began making "Photo-Constructions" which incorporated photographs with constructed elements, casts and real objects, exhibited at Concourse Gallery, London, 1977 (exhibition closed by feminist protesters).
Creative Camera Gallery, London and Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool.
Set up Mike Roles Studios with former student/photographer Sue Atkinson.
Moved to Sunningdale, Berkshire.
Appointed Head of Photography at West Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education
Visiting lecturer at University of Westminster, London, 1977-79.

1980's

1981-83 Royal College of Art, Master of Arts, Photography.
Continued developing "Photo-Constructions" in colour and black and white *
Produced the sequence Chrysalis.
Began series "Loves and Vanities".
1986-88 Head of Department of Foundation and Part-Time BA courses in Fine Art and Critical Studies, St Martin's School of Art, (University of the Arts), London.
1988 Appointed Half-Time Principal Lecturer in Photography, Deputy Director of Studies, BA Hons., London College of Printing ((University of the Arts), London.
Visiting lecturer (Photography) Royal College of Art, London, 1986-90.
Commissions for Photo-Constructions included: 3M (UK) Plc, GB Aero Components Ltd, Liberty, London, various private exhibitions included: RCA Summer Exhibition, London 1983, Brixton Gallery, London (Mixed) 1984, Omell Galleries, London (Solo)1984, Hazelroyd Gallery, Bradford (Mixed) 1984, Hamilton's, London - Finalist Benson & Hedges Gold Award, 1985, The Ffotogallery, Cardiff, (Mixed) 1985, Contemporary Arts Gallery, Windsor, (Solo) 1987, Henry Moore Gallery, (RCA), London (Mixed), 1989, Special Photographers Gallery, London ( Mixed) 1989.

1990's

1992-98 Royal College of Art, London, Doctor of Philosophy, Sculpture School
Visited Pompeii and inspired by the petrified remains of figures.
Suffered a bout of depression out of which grew the ideas for "Two Kinds of Being".
1994-2000 Produced series "Two Kinds of Being" using photography with sculpture based on life casts.
1995 Relocated studios (ARC Studios/now Atkinson Roles Company) to central London.
1994-6 Responsible for writing/developing MA Photography course at the London Institute.
Mother died.
1997 Left lecturing to concentrate on sculpture and completing PhD entitled "Two Kinds Of Being".
Consultancies and visiting lectures: 1990-95 Royal College of Art, London, visiting lecturer, (Photography), Lancaster University, Lancaster, 1993-96, Fachhochschule, Dortmund, Germany, visiting lecturer, 1996, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of HE, visiting lecturer, 1998, London Photographic Awards, Judge 1998/2000.
Commissions included: Cogent for Whyte and Mackay Whisky, private commission for three standing figures, Lloyd's Millennium Commission.
Exhibitions included: Gallerie de L'Image, London (Solo), 1990, Espace Guyot, Paris (Solo), 1990, Atlantis Fine Arts, London "Loves and Vanities" (Solo), 1991, Royal Photographic Society, Bath "Loves & Vanities" (Solo), 1991, Portfolio Gallery, London "The Female", (Mixed), 1991, Special Photographers Company, London (Mixed), 1991, Portfolio Gallery, London ( Mixed), 1991, Portfolio Gallery, London, "Out of the Frame", (Solo), 1992, RAM Gallery, Rotterdam (Rotterdam Foto-Bienale) (Mixed), 1992, Aberdeen City Art Gallery, "Fotofeis" (Scottish International) (Mixed), 1993, Royal College of Art, London, "'98 Sculpture Show" (Mixed), 1998, Gallery 1990 +, London," Pure" (Mixed), 1999 *.

2000's

Completed and installed Lloyd's Millennium Commission.
2000 Began purely sculptural series "Collisions with Time".
2004 Evolution of "Welcome to the Third Millennium" which included works directly inspired by Al Quaeda terrorist attacks.
Produced series of small paintings based on newspaper images.
2004 Founded ArcArt Gallery at studios in Grafton Mews, London.
2004 inaugural exhibition at ArcArt with painter Alan Barker.
Other exhibitions included: The Printroom, London, 2000, ArtParks International, 2001/02/03/04, The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden, Summer Show, Ockley, England, 2000/01/02, The Royal Society of British Sculptors, Summer Show, London, 2002/03, Broomhills Sculpture Park. Devon England, 2003-present, "20/20" a Retrospective of the past 20 years work with Alan Barker, ArcArt, London, 2006.
Visiting Lectures: Royal College of Art, London, 2000-03, (Drawing workshops and lectures to PhD students).

Lloyd`s Millennium Image Sculpture side view

MikeRoles