Sugimoto’s two series of photos: Lightning Fields and Photogenic Drawing are brought together in a stunning realisation of his themes of time and memory, alongside his exploration of photographic production methods. The exhibition manages to be both profoundly beautiful with an insightful introduction to elements of photographic science.

Lightning Fields’ striking black and white images, created by applying electrical charges to photographic film, manages to capture brief moments of light particle movement in minute detail. This results in an interesting and enjoyable exploration of Sugimoto’s belief that “Art resides even in things with no intrinsic intention.”

As the title suggests, the large photographs primarily resemble dramatic lightning bolts, but as you move through the exhibition they begin to effortlessly morph into more complex representations: a river of white lava flowing through cracked earth, a long haired banshee rising explosively into the sky, a tree with roots crawling through the darkness.

Sugimoto’s approach to photography appears to straddle the science of photographic production and the emotive conveyance of complex ideas through images. He bravely tackles the theme of time in both series, but with Photogenic Drawing the result is far more haunting and profound.

On the wall between exhibition rooms another quote from Sugimoto reads; “However fake the subject, once photographed it’s as good as real.”

This perfectly introduces the large painting-like photographs that he produced from original negatives, taken by William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the forefathers modern photography.

Talbot was known for using light-sensitive paper to create “light drawings” – paper negatives – around 160 years before to Sugimoto.

Many of the negatives used by Sugimoto had never previously been developed, allowing him to put a new spin on some of Talbot’s original pictures. The photographs produced ranged between stunning depictions of plant life tinted with different colours on contrasting backgrounds, to haunting and eerie depictions of Talbot’s family and household, some grainy and indistinct with age.

The exhibition as a whole proved deeply engaging and profoundly aesthetic, which made delving into philosophy and scientific production methods enjoyable and accessible to even the most sceptic of gallery goers.

This lingering piece from the Edinburgh International Festival proved atmospheric and intensely poignant. I left feeling reminiscent, having seen fading memories of the summer festivals and a photographic journey through time.