An Interview on yellowtrace
Hello Josh, welcome to yellowtrace and thank you for taking the time to e-chat. Could you please tell us about your background – when did you first decide you wanted to become a photographer and what path lead you to where you are today?
I don’t know if I ever did decide anything. I do however fondly remember receiving my first camera when I was ten or so and producing thousands of the most banal images, mostly of animals in zoos and goats particularly. The camera was literally another eye for me and I always felt intoxicated looking through a lens. My grandfather was a photographer and I always coveted his work, a lot of nudes, portraits and landscapes. In some way his work was an enabler for me to pursue a photographic path. Some sort of genetic predisposition or coincidence that kept me occupied with photographs. In high-school I fell in love with darkrooms and film. I spent my undergraduate studies working in film and video and still share a passion for the moving image. My post-graduate work really cemented a focus on stills and I feel really grounded there. I don’t need anything else to feel satisfied. I’ve dabbled in commercial work and am very open to a variety of ways of working, but always end up in the visual arts world. For years I’ve collaborated with my mate Shaun Gladwell which has lead to a large swathe of work that almost always has an exciting destination. And so any sense of path is by no means a direct or lucid one. I’m not sure it matters. Ambition is important and a level of boldness, but I have little of that. I try and keep a rigour in my ideas and produce photographs when the idea is ready to pop out.
Can you describe what you are seeking to portray in your work? What is fundamental to your practice – your philosophy and your process?
I always feel like I’m bumping around in the dark, occasionally there’s a flash and real clarity, urgent and electric, but it’s gone quick. I don’t think you ever know what you are doing, but you know you have to do it. It’s really important to me to be cogent of the act of photography, the affect that being lensed has on a subject. What is my role in this relationship? What am I changing? It’s an age old conundrum in art history. And I think it always needs attention. Certainly being a-historical is death for me. A fatal mistake. Unless you carry a history of image production with you, under your arm, you’re travelling light. Better to be heavy with the past than not. Cause it’s almost always been where you want to go.
What does a typical day involve for you? How do you work – can you give us an insight into your process?
I wake with a panic and then plan the trip to the cafe. It usually takes me too long to get out of the house. So the day starts when I get out of my cafe. I shoot irregularly but consistently irregularly. So my days are spent almost always doing something else other than ‘shooting.’ In some sense I am always shooting though. Thats the panic. Thinking about images. I like working with other people, so finessing relationships with printers, framers and other artists is always a given. Because I shoot a lot for other artists and directors, my day is really about realising other peoples ideas (as opposed to my own ‘personal work’, a term I hate in commercial photography by the way). Right now I’m working with Shaun [Gladwell] on pre-production for a range of video works, jumping in to SCUBA for some underwater shooting, and working in post-production on photographs and video for local and international exhibitions of his. Sometimes I’m just raising invoices and emailing. I’m about to start shooting for a group show and a solo show next year, so that’s very exciting.
Photography is a very competitive business and it can be very difficult for young photographers to get a ‘break’ and start earning a living from their passion. How do you approach this challenge and what advice can you give to other fledging photographers?
I don’t think of it as a challenge. It’s just something to negotiate. Shoot, shoot, shoot, be critical and don’t compromise too much. Get with the tech. Know your gear, let it help you solve problems. Take creative risks, always, always, always.
What was one of your biggest lessons learned since starting out?
Trust your experience, trust your guts on stuff. I’m not suggesting intuition is that useful or to be trusted entirely, but I look back on work and relationships and feel quite vindicated in methods or feelings on how images were realised. And guaranteed the work you felt best about at the time you’ll feel differently about later. However it’s always nice to go back to old work and have it stand strong in your mind. I think that assessment process is always important.
Where do you turn for creative inspiration – books, travel, websites/ blogs etc?
Other peoples work is always frightening and exciting. So plenty of that. A lot of my work is generated through travel but often simple, small moments can explode into an idea. A Photo Editor, Richard Renaldi, A Photo Student, Will Steacy, information aesthetics, VVORK, HD Magazine, The Rest Is Noise, Grub Street, Typejockeys, Terry’s Diary, Iconic Photos, Amy Stein, wanderlustagraphy, Kate Hutchinson, Bearskinrug, Shane Lavalette, Slava Mogutin, nonesuch… a current September 2010 list.
What other photographers, artists, creative people, or peers do you admire?
I’m a big fan of broader contexts in which artists use photography. Jack Pierson, Felix Gonzales Tores, Martin Parr, Helmut Newton, Alec Soth, Wolfgang Tillmans, Duane Michals, Nan Goldin, Sebastiao Salgado, Ben Hoffmann, Elizabeth Weinberg, Trent Parke, Corey Arnold. I could go on and on!
What are you most proud of professionally? And what has been your favourite shoot/project so far?
That’s always a tough question, as I’m not sure there’s anything that stands-out. A series in Japan is very special for me as is material taken in Indonesia. Shooting the Apologies series of images for Shaun Gladwell was a great thing over a number of years, but not just because of the shooting. The whole process from planning to printing was very rewarding.
What are you working on at the moment?
There’s always a grant application in progress, the next show; but specifically a body of work that has some key sculptural elements. The photography is integral to the show, but in some sense may appear ancillary. I’m interested in a broad presentation of ideas and it’s nice to not feel tied to a medium and experiment in others. I’m also chasing a bird wrangler for a studio shoot with a model I love working with. There’s some planning for working with my grandfather’s large format negatives and some tableau staged in Bali around Australian pedophilic painters!
What’s next – can you share with us your vision and some of your goals?
Just to keep on. Simple really. Not to let go of even the tiniest of ideas.
Let’s Get Personal:
Apart from your work, what other interests or hobbies do you have?
Art, Technology and Music. I’m a terrible geek. I’m always chasing music for film. So anything new in that department, purely orchestral.
What are some of your favourite local galleries and shops {music, fashion, books, accessories, furniture vintage, other bits and pieces}?
I wish I was cool. Online is my window to the world. Superdry, Energie sneakers. Having just been in LA and New York, then it’s the galleries, all of Chelsea, the high-line, Indonesian magazines, usually where I have just been. LA sunshine, in the water in Bondi.
Your favourite cafes/ restaurants/ bars?
I have a regular. Luigis in Bondi. I rarely stray. Good coffee is essential and I’m a sucker for a sticky-carpet bar. When I’m abroad, that’s when things get interesting.
What is your most treasured belonging?
I would like to say nothing, but its most likely photographs and my grandfather’s photographs.
Do you have a nickname?
j.r. (my ititals) or Joshy.
It’s not very cool, but I really like…
Passion in others, excitement and a drink to calm it all down.
Your favourite joke?
It’s a limerick really.
“There was a young lady from Leeds, who swallowed a packet of seeds, in less than an hour, her tits were in flower and her bum was all covered in weeds.”
You don’t want to hear my jokes.