Experience a moment of purity to recreate it
The way the sun lights parts of the subject's face and body and the landscape in a frame, the angle of the gaze, and the interaction with nature work to create a sense of nostalgia in Jack Fox’s images. Jack explains, “I think nostalgia is always at the heart of photography. I feel a sense of it even as I am making the images themselves.” Through the moments of silence that can be felt looking at Jack's work, the viewer experiences an appreciation of the moment and the importance of being present. The continuation is formed through transitions between black and white and color images, generating an emotional response and keeping the magic in both personal and commercial projects. While in Apophenia, Jack researches the tension between static and dynamic movement which allows to create a unique atmosphere of expectation and words unformed.
Jack Fox is a visual artist based in Richmond, Virginia holds a BFA in Photography from Virginia Commonwealth University and he lectured at William & Mary University. In this interview, we discuss how classical studies shape practice through constant critique and development of concepts. We speak about the recent photobook, Quiet From Here, published by Pomegranate Press (2023), spanning over two years of photographing friends and strangers across North America. Jack explains his way of working with large and medium formats, staging the subjects in the frame and documenting life as it happens. His recent zine, Apophenia, launched in April through Friend Editions.
Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
‘Having a space to have your work criticized, to have to defend what you make has made me much more confident in what I make, and I have missed it from the moment I had my final critique.’
My Narrative
Hi Jack, it’s nice to meet you. How are things going for you?
You recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Photography and Film. From the other perspective, you also were a guest lecturer at William & Mary University, which allows you to put your practice back into theory. In what way did studying photography and lecturing help you shape the concepts and develop the technical skills?
Hi Nastasia, it’s great to meet you as well! Things are going great for me overall, but photography work ebbs and flows quite a bit. I wouldn’t change it for the world, even when things get really tough. I owe a whole lot to the faculty at VCU’s Photo Program, their perspective has done so much to shape the way I approach photography. Having a space to have your work criticized, to have to defend what you make has made me much more confident in what I make, and I have missed it from the moment I had my final critique. VCU is a more conceptual rather than a technical program, so technical skill was mostly up to me to learn on my own time. I love that about it, though.
‘If I see someone make a small movement, stand a certain way, or interact with the world in a way that catches my eye, I will ask to make an image of them the way they were moments earlier.’
Apophenia
Apophenia — the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas), from Merriam-Webster dictionary.
In your project, which is presented in black and white, the focus is on interpersonal connections between the subjects and their connection to nature. Yet again, one of the main elements is the atmosphere created that adds to the actions taken by the main characters and relations they form. It is an atmosphere of expectation, of words unspoken, and the meaning that is yet to be learned. What was the process like working on the series with the chosen subjects?
Thank you for such a gracious response to the work. It is always such a joy to hear how someone else responds to work that is so deeply personal to me. My process, as with so much of what I make, has been completely elastic. I typically make images by spending time with loved ones. If I see someone make a small movement, stand a certain way, or interact with the world in a way that catches my eye, I will ask to make an image of them the way they were moments earlier. Since I work principally with large and medium format cameras, my work is staged a majority of the time. That doesn’t mean that the images I’ve made of a moment aren’t true, but I prefer to work in a way where I can experience a moment with purity and then recreate it.
‘I gravitate towards making photographs of water and trees because that is where I enjoy spending my time the most.’
Two images caught my attention in Apophenia both showing a group of friends climbing a tree. In the first image, the tree has intertwined roots coming off the ground, while the subjects are either static and contemplating or as if caught in a moment of movement. The other tree is a reclined one with a swing above water with static subjects on the tree waiting for their turn to use the swing while one person is in motion on the swing. In what way, when staging the image, do you work with this contrariness to create tension and story?
In many of the images in Apophenia, the images are organic moments. That is the case with the rope swing photo. I was with some friends at that tree, a larger group showed up to play on the tree, and I found the moment to be gorgeous. The other tree group photo was staged, but it was in reference to an earlier moment that actually happened with a group of friends. The tension in this work is the search for a sense of bliss that is constantly fading. I gravitate towards making photographs of water and trees because that is where I enjoy spending my time the most.
‘The work is certainly nostalgic, but I think nostalgia is always at the heart of photography. I feel a sense of it even as I am making the images themselves.’
Quiet From Here
Quiet From Here is a book published by Pomegranate Press in 2023 that consists of 200 copies. The book's narrative is built on a sequence of black and white images that transition to color, featuring landscape photography and portraits. The overall feeling and atmosphere created is that of longing for something with a light hint of nostalgia, depicted in a silent form. What was your main theme in working on the narrative and selecting the images to tell this story of emotions?
When I was photographing this body of work, I didn’t have a specific theme in mind, I was just photographing what felt true to myself at the time. This body of work is put most simply as two years of documenting life as it happens. It was an attempt to capture the youth of my closest friends in a bottle. That also meant photographing strangers and acquaintances I met with my friends along the way. Experiencing so many different parts of North America, from the shores of Nova Scotia to a burning forest in Virginia. The work is certainly nostalgic, but I think nostalgia is always at the heart of photography. I feel a sense of it even as I am making the images themselves.
Commissioned Work
The theme of nature is one that remains important and is reflected in both personal and commissioned projects. How do your personal projects influence your client work, and how do you maintain your aesthetic vision?
I have been really lucky to make commissioned work that is in line with my practice and style. Ultimately, my personal work is a direct influence on anything I am commissioned for because that is the reason I get work in the first place. I am still in the early stages of my career, and I am hopeful that I never have a need to stray from a vision that is so far from my own that I don't recognize it. I definitely have had to turn down work that wasn’t in line with my values as an artist. Most of the commissioned work I’ve done has been fairly open-ended. I will often be tasked with making a portrait of someone with no specific setting that I need to photograph them in. I naturally gravitate towards making images in dense forests or other natural locations because that is where I enjoy making images most.
‘I definitely have had to turn down work that wasn’t in line with my values as an artist.’
Upcoming Projects
What theme or narrative are you researching, and what can we expect from you in the upcoming months?
I was about to move to London and start grad school, but I decided to hold off for a year or two so I could be more prepared both financially and mentally. This decision has been quite consuming, and as a result, my practice has been slow over the past few months. With that being said, I have been working on commercial assignments here and there and am part of a couple of group shows over the next months. I am currently part of the Unbound 13! Exhibition at Candela Gallery and will also have work up at LoosenArt in Rome next month. A bit further away, I will be participating in a residency in Slovakia over a three-month period, where I plan to make a new body of work. For now, I am working at the pace that feels right and trying not to force anything.
