© IMA Studio & Sid White-Jones.
In April 2021, I was interviewed by the Artist Mark Tamer for IMA Studio’s ‘Artists at Work’ series. Within this interview I covered a range of topics, including: how my experiences at Norwich University of the Arts furthered my appreciation for conceptual photography and the works of Lee Friedlander; becoming a Babylon Young Curator with Babylon ARTS and why my photographic series ‘Residues’ has inspired my future plans for a found-photography publishing project; and the ways in which the artist-led Motion Sickness Project Space are combatting the lack of opportunities available to artists within the city of Cambridge.
Excerpts from the interview:
“There’s actually a section in David Company’s recent book 'On Photographs' which I believe demonstrates this point perfectly. Campany uses the image Peter Exline, Spokane Washington to illustrate why Friedlander’s seemingly amateur façade is actually a very carefully orchestrated operation and not just a simple case of naivety. It’s easy to forget but at the end of the day, the photograph is an object just like anything else. Upon visiting the Rosetta Stone for the first time no one’s initial response is that “it’s ugly”, as we don’t typically assess the worth of a historical object on its appearance. So, I try to think in the same way about photographs.”
© Lee Friedlander, Route 9W, New York, 1969/2021.
“At present, one of my biggest interests is found-photographs. I particularly enjoy working with older photographs that have previously gone unnoticed and giving them a new context through the use of contemporary interventions that wouldn’t have been possible at the time they were photographed. My recent project Residues is a great example of this, having been created from a collection of negatives that I came across in a skip. I worked on top of these images using various chemical manipulations and photomontage techniques before exhibiting them last March as part of The Cambridge Wide Open. It was really wonderful to be able to share these images with a new audience and I hope that the original owner would have been pleased to see them still being enjoyed all this time later, even in their rather contemporary state.”
© Sid White-Jones - ‘Residues’ (2020) Installation view at Motion Sickness Project Space, Cambridge.
IMA Studio are a creative startup who offer a range of career development services to guide and support working artists.
You can now read the full interview by visiting IMA Studio’s website here.
*Please note that since this interview was published, IMA Studio have since become known as The Artist Support Centre.
For more info on The Artist Support Centre visit -
W: www.theartistsupportcentre.com
IG: @the_artist_support_centre
Special Thanks -
To Mark Tamer for taking the time to organise and conduct the interview.