Eighteen years ago Kip’s Mother asked him if he would like to come to the shops with her. He jumped at the chance. What young, adventurous photographer wouldn’t given that she was buying rich, gorgeous Buddhist Tankas and the shops were effectively Nepal.
Kip found the place nothing short of amazing: the smells of incense, the colourful fabrics, the friendly people, the century old temples all framed by the highest mountains in the world. Having been effectively sealed off from the world for 50 years Nepal was no Lanesboro me buckos.
And Kip wanted more, wanted to go deeper, wanted to get under the skin of this wondrous. However, civil war – as is its want - put the kibosh on that plan so it was back to Ireland for Kip and the beginnings of what has turned out to be a brilliant career in the world of portraiture and fashion photography in both Ireland and the UK.
But Nepal was always there in a whiff of incense, the tinkle of a bell, the flash of a tanka in the back of his mother’s gallery.
The peace.
Now Kip loves his job but he need to get away from it sometimes. Often he’d lose himself in an imaginary world of no e-mail, phone, TV, newspapers, news, central heating, no durned electricity sizzling away in the background. A world of peace like you might find in...
He needed to go back. Back to Nepal. But would that Nepal still be there? Only one way to find out. He rationalised thus: if the trip took 27 days (and boy would it) it would be worthwhile if he got an exhibition out of it. A few eyebrows were raised but if he didn’t do it now, he would never do it. He called up his old school chum Brian – whom he’d met on the first day of boarding school - and took the first step on a 300 mile adventure.
They started where the road ended – at Jiri – and acclimatised themselves. Then on to Kala Patthar (5545m) a hill under the South west face of Everest then on to Gokyo. And thus began the trip through paradise – albeit a paradise which feature, rock slides, avalanches and earthquakes - which you can share in the photos.
And Kip certainly brought that magic back with him, each photo being like a personal window on a place that is simply like no other.
Kip Carroll has been a full time photographer for twenty years working mainly in portraits ,fashion and advertising. In this exhibition of fine art photography we are directed toward something different, invited to find a feeling, a mood, an echo of the sense the photographer felt when they chose to make this image, at this moment .