Writing (click for full text)
2022
Gregory Eddi Jones - Promise Land
Photobook review, C4 Journal
“At first glance, Jones’ images come across as paintings; they are, in fact, photographs which have been completely transformed through a process of digital manipulation and printing on non-absorbent paper, where the inks can blend together. It’s difficult to keep believing in an image that has been visibly altered; although on most occasions we can sense when images serve a mercantile function, Jones’ process completely dismantles the promise of the real. This act of displacement from their original function prompts the question – if they don’t sell, what do these images do?”
Photobook review, C4 Journal
“At first glance, Jones’ images come across as paintings; they are, in fact, photographs which have been completely transformed through a process of digital manipulation and printing on non-absorbent paper, where the inks can blend together. It’s difficult to keep believing in an image that has been visibly altered; although on most occasions we can sense when images serve a mercantile function, Jones’ process completely dismantles the promise of the real. This act of displacement from their original function prompts the question – if they don’t sell, what do these images do?”
The Pulp of Memory -
Darío Gil Cabanas
Artist Feature, Archivo Platform
“The montage is a raw demonstration of 20th century life, where hardly any year passes without adding to the collection of photographic representations, showing two parallel transformations - that of the body, and that of photography, both changing and ultimately fading in their own way. In a way, this condensation is anxiety-inducing – life is preciously and terribly short if it can be boiled down to only a few pictures. Perhaps it is this realisation that provokes the artist to consider extending the understanding that images offer, to root them both in his grandfather’s own account and in historical sources. After all, the book starts with a reflection on how a family has memories buried deeply within neurons, which can also act as an invitation to ponder strategies to unearth and to decipher this inheritance.”
“The montage is a raw demonstration of 20th century life, where hardly any year passes without adding to the collection of photographic representations, showing two parallel transformations - that of the body, and that of photography, both changing and ultimately fading in their own way. In a way, this condensation is anxiety-inducing – life is preciously and terribly short if it can be boiled down to only a few pictures. Perhaps it is this realisation that provokes the artist to consider extending the understanding that images offer, to root them both in his grandfather’s own account and in historical sources. After all, the book starts with a reflection on how a family has memories buried deeply within neurons, which can also act as an invitation to ponder strategies to unearth and to decipher this inheritance.”
2021
Hang Ten (with Tom Medwell, Ning Zhou, Gülce Tulçalı and Yushi Li)
Interview, Revolv Collective
“L: How did you come up with the concept for the exhibition?
T: The initial idea was very simple. There is a game called Consequences, or Exquisite Corpse, invented by André Breton, where people take turns to write a line and then fold the paper before passing it to the next person, and I wondered how this might be possible with a camera. Medium format film lends itself quite well to this - with 6x7 negatives you get ten shots on a roll, a good number for a small show. But then I realised that the production of this roll could also function as a work of art - both as the performance of creation, and also as a testament to the wildly diverse possibilities of the medium. (...) There was also a sort of joy for me in seeing how artists I greatly admire create their work, as well as a slightly malicious glee in putting them on the spot with just one shot.”
Interview, Revolv Collective
“L: How did you come up with the concept for the exhibition?
T: The initial idea was very simple. There is a game called Consequences, or Exquisite Corpse, invented by André Breton, where people take turns to write a line and then fold the paper before passing it to the next person, and I wondered how this might be possible with a camera. Medium format film lends itself quite well to this - with 6x7 negatives you get ten shots on a roll, a good number for a small show. But then I realised that the production of this roll could also function as a work of art - both as the performance of creation, and also as a testament to the wildly diverse possibilities of the medium. (...) There was also a sort of joy for me in seeing how artists I greatly admire create their work, as well as a slightly malicious glee in putting them on the spot with just one shot.”
