On the 6th February 2024 I attended a Artist Talk and Photography Networking Event at Fabrica (https://fabrica.org.uk/events/photography-networking-event). The guest speaker was Christian Jago (https://christianjago.co.uk/), a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice revolves around ‘world building’. His process involves making models/sets, of fictional worlds that he draws out of his imagination. He’s interested in how space, tone and colour can tell a story, taking inspiration from visual effects and perspectives in films. Sometimes his sets are inspired by real landscapes and contain subtle references to real places.
His recent project is called Ephemeral Bloom (https://christianjago.co.uk/Ephemeral-Bloom) and in the talk he took us through the 6 chapters of the project. In short, the project is about nature and the lessons it taught him about his own mental health, such as change, growth and perseverance. The project amounted in a virtual exhibition, a form he enjoyed as it enabled him to curate the equivalent of a solo show. I appreciate how well he executes his vision and the emotional intelligence behind the choice of colour and texture in each photograph.
In terms of professional practice he mentioned some opportunities he partook in such as Big Sky Studios (where he assisted photographers), East meets West and the Revolv Award. I have researched more into these opportunities:
Big Sky Studios: A creative complex of photographic studios in central London. They offer studio space, equipment, catering, set build, or post-production and content creation. (https://www.bigskylondon.com/)
East meets West: A collective of 22 UK-based emerging photographers, a programme organised by GRAIN Projects (https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/), FORMAT and QUAD. Through regularly sharing their work with each other, the individuals nurtured thematic and practice-based connections, becoming part of a valuable creative community. As a collective they partook in exhibitions and created workshops for the public such as zine making, photo walks and lumen printing.
Revolv Award: A prize that supports three early-career photo-based artists, via a year long mentorship with Revolv collective. (https://revolv.org.uk/Revolv-Award)