Profiles

For the last three three years Paul Angel has been obsessively photographing graffiti love hearts which he has come across during his travels around the world.

He's travelled around the UK, France and Italy photographing urban hearts, coastal hearts, hearts carved into the bark of trees, hearts in stone, hearts in sand, hearts in spray paint, marker pen and biro.

Paul Angel

Paul explained the idea for the 'Love | landscape' collection:  "It's just simply down to my romantic nature and keen eye."

He now has over 550 heart images, which featured at Mulberry Tree Gallery in Swanage on Valentine's Day.

Some of Paul's newest photographs from romantic locations like Paris, St Quentin, Pisa, Florence and Venice were shown.

But it doesn't end there. Paul intends to travel further to develop the collection:

"I've taken pictures in beautiful places, hidden places, fascinating places and places where the smell of urban life is almost overwhelming.

"I take a usually very straight photograph of the heart, and then the challenge is to make an accompanying image within sight of the heart that gives the viewer a sense of the place where the heart was found, and hopefully something more."

Later this year Paul Angel will be exhibiting his extensive 'Love | Landscape' collection of graffiti hearts and other photographic works during Dorset Art Weeks 2008, the UK's largest free festival of visual arts, where over 700 artists will be opening their studios up to visitors between the 24 May and 8 June.