Jack Davison - Photographs

A story of British artist Jack Davison’s experiments with image making from 2007 to present.

A self-taught photographer, Davison makes pictures like a painter paints, using intuition and instinct to craft photographs that excavate the surreal and sensual from the fabric of daily life. Relying heavily on chiaroscuro and the power of photography to obscure as well as reveal, Davison’s unique, crafted approach to image-making oscillates from crisp, sharp details into dissolving mirages – the world inverted and submerged.

With their deep shadows and tight framing, the images in Photographs have an unmistakably cinematic quality; each layered image leaves a breadcrumb trail of associations that extend far beyond its initial context. Despite Jack’s recent successes, he remains humble and all-encompassing in his photography, and the book indistinguishably shifts from staged, meticulous editorial setups to simple everyday occurrences, infused with mystery and depth.

Two recurring motifs in Davison’s work are the hand and the eye: here a clenched fist, there caressing a face; here glaring out from a billboard and elsewhere shimmering in a reflection. They represent a dynamic tension within Davison’s work, of seeing versus feeling, or the threshold between perception and imagination. The delicate sequence in Photographs hovers between these two states, creating a complex, soulful interpretation of the world through Jack's enigmatic portraits, landscapes and still lifes.

Jack Davison (b.1990) studied English Literature at Warwick University but spent most of the time experimenting with cameras. Since the age of 14 he has continuously photographed those around him. He lives in London and works for numerous publications including New York Times Magazine, M Le Monde, Luncheon, Double & British Vogue, but spends most of his time shooting for his ongoing personal work. He had his first solo exhibition, Revisiting Pictures, at the Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam in 2016.

136 pages
25 colour & 39 duotone plates
24 x 25.5 cm
Embossed linen hardcover with tip-on
ISBN 978-1-912719-07-5
First printing May 2019, Third printing in 2021

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