Born in London, UK, Jonny Briggs obtained his MA in Photography at the Royal College of Art. Jonny Briggs is Archisle International Photographer and he will be working on a commission of new work in Jersey from April to September this year and his works produced will join the Archisle collection at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive for future public enjoyment.

Jonny revealed the overall reason for using family member particularly his father. He told us it was in search of lost parts of his childhood and try  to make up for this lost time with his family. His ideas are outside what we would call ‘reality’ that we are all socialised into when we are children and he then created new and different realities with his parents and himself through his photography. In Jonny’s photography he uses binary opposites such as ‘ self/other, real/fake and desire/repulsive.’

He worked on this particular project called ‘the family bubble.’ He likes to surprise people when it comes to people assuming his images are photoshopped but when looking closer realising it is more real than first expected. He likes to fact photography as it allows him to communicate through photographs, saying things that would not be said in reality ‘having a voice’, he used the example of a tranquility puppet.

Some of his work:

Analysis:

I chose this specific image by Jonny Briggs to analysis. This image has been completely created by Jonny from the mask of his father to the painting of the model, which is actually Jonny himself. He painted the scenery also and he actually told us that this took about 3 hours to conduct.

The main focus of the image is the painted model, I am particularly drawn to the hands, feet and head as they look out of proportion to the rest of the body, which would of been the angle that the photograph was taken which created this effect.  The lighting used looks natural as you can see the natural light coming through the trees projecting on the figure hovered on a tree stump. The light is soft and there is very little contrast within the photo except from the different shades on his clothing from the intensity of the light in particular parts of the photo, specifically the bottom half. The image is striking as it is different to what we would normally associate with the outdoor environment. I feel like the painted box shape behind the subject creates an almost trapped effect as we crouches in an awkward looking position and he looks uncomfortable. This almost makes it look like a surreal 3D effect that makes certain parts of the image stand out more than others (the pink paint.) To me, this image is exploring the theme of mixing something man made with nature as he was mixing abnormality with nature to create an abstract image.

You can see in Jonny’s work that other artists work similar to Jonny and could make a comparison, Jonny could have taken inspiration from these artists such as John Stezaker and Joana Piotrowska.

Joanna Piotrowska:

Joanna Piotrowska’s uncomfortable album, a series of staged family shots, insists upon the fundamental anxiety at the heart of the family: its system of relationships, adamantine bonds that are equally oppressive and rewarding. Her images display intimate family scenes – cosily paired bodies, meeting and converging, in images which teeter on the verge of a dysfunctional moment. In one snapshot, two adult brothers lie together on a Persian carpet wearing only white briefs; in another, the black-clothed bodies of two embracing women merge, suggesting the atavistic overlap of mother and daughter. She uses her own family to produce these images.

This is similar to Jonny as he too uses his own family particularly his father within his photography. He too stages family scenes, which he then takes photographs of, he appears in most of his work unlike Joanna as she focuses on capturing her family in her photography. There overall theme is similar as they both are interested in the theme of family.

John Stezaker:

John Stezaker’s work re-examines the various relationships to the photographic image: as documentation of truth, purveyor of memory, and symbol of modern culture. In his collages, Stezaker appropriates images found in books, magazines, and postcards and uses them as ‘readymades’. Through his elegant juxtapositions, Stezaker adopts the content and contexts of the original images to convey his own witty and poignant meanings. He has a real interest in ‘surrealism.’

He manipulates his images by folding or cutting the images to create a different image altogether. This is something that Jonny has also explored as he has sliced through photographs and their frames and has slightly moved them to create a different effect in the photograph. Jonny is also interested in surrealism as he enjoys people questioning whether the camera always lies or the camera never lies.

John Stezaker

Jonny Briggs

Grosnez Castle

Grosnez Castle occupied the headland at the extreme north-west of Jersey in Saint Ouen. Nobody really knows why it was built, but it was probably constructed in the 14th century, and was in ruins by 1540 and remains so today.

This is a reconstruction of what modern day architects believe the building would like by Norman Rybot.

Using the Société Jersiaise archisle, I was able to locate this picture of a family around what is left of the castle. The building is into a similar state today despite this picture being taken by Francis George de Faye between 1890 and 1920.

Due to the symmetrical arching of the castle and the coastal view behind, the site would be able easy to create my own version of a Luigi Ghirri-esque image. The castle coincides nicely with this development on the environment as this site is very recognizable with fellow islanders.

L’Etacq

The story of L’Etacq is deeply effected by it’s environment. It’s rich nutrient filled cotils and close proximity to the sea has seen fishing and farming heavily in its history. The rocky cliff faces also add to the list of nutrients within the heart of Saint Ouen’s, as it has been subjected to quarrying, coinciding with the topic of man’s impact on land.

This image derived from the SJ archives shows the rural nature of Saint Ouen’s, dating back to between 1871 – 1873.  Compared to today, L’Etacq has not expanded in quite the same way the rest of the island has due to restrictions from within the States of Jersey. Some properties have been added and some have been renovated but fundamentally, the landscape does not look too different for a 130 year difference.

A distinctive sign of continuity within L’Etacq is the notorious Fisherman’s Cottage next to Le Pulec Bay. When searching through the archives, I recognized the small jewel within Jersey’s heritage as it still stands tall today. Here is an  image of the cottage against what it looks like today.

The Fisherman’s cottage at the very north of St Ouen’s Bay is surrounded by the wild in arguably the most rural sector of the island, giving it a direct link to a natural environment which coincides with our objective. The site also demonstrates continuity and resilience against man’s impact but also shows how the people of Jersey understood it is important to keep some traditional sites and prevent too much refurbishment.

Following my short and to be continued trip to the North-West coast of the island between Les Landes and L’Etacq in Saint Ouen’s, I was very pleased to see continuity through the unique aspect of the Fisherman’s Cottage. The recognizable monument still stands strong as it demonstrates a rare source of an old Jersey culture and can be interpreted as a form of an archive as it reveals information upon a different era and society. The original Jersey granite reinforces the mere fact this is a Jersey artifact and unique to the island along with the typical coast line that the building faces.

Personally, this building represents the true Jersey without all the finance buildings and prospects which now dominates the island. Previously, the islanders explored their resourceful nature as fishermans, for instance the one that inhibited a site like this in order to survive. We lived off our own grown crops from the cotils or the cattle, for example the Jersey Cow we are renown for would enable island life. It is reassuring to maintain sites like the Fisherman’s cottage as our town centre is dominated by over-powering modern buildings which dominate the Saint Helier scape. For research into an environmental theme, I believe visits to the more remote regions of the island give a more reflection of our island and who I am following my progression as a human on the island.

Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob or Claude Cahun was an iconic artist, particularly recognised for her photography which was considered rather peculiar for her time period but looking back retrospectively, the modern generation has agreed the French national was ahead of her time. The advanced Claude Cahun was most definitely promoting a minority as she was born into a Jewish family, an unpopular religion throughout history, however, she was also a lesbian and lived with partner  Suzanne Malherbe, who renamed herself ‘Marcel Moore’. Potentially, Cahun’s underdog stature within society caused her to follow up with her surrealism production through art and literature. Cahun had a focus upon ridiculing traditional concepts of gender roles as she exploited her androgynous nature to defy society’s pretensions.

San Francisco, 1928

New York, 1920

Paris, 1920

During World War II, Cahun and her partner Moore created propaganda within the occupied Channel Island of Jersey.  The two worked extensively in producing anti-German fliers and they inconspicuously crumpled up and threw their fliers into cars and windows. In many ways, Cahun and Malherbe’s resistance efforts were not only political but artistic actions, using their creative talents to manipulate and undermine the authority which they despised. However, Cahun’s subversive behaviour was a dangerous game and this led to a death sentence in 1944, fortunately her punishment was never carried out, but her health never recovered from her treatment during the war and she died in 1954.

It wasn’t until 40 years after her death that Cahun’s work became recognized, mostly thanks to Francis Leperlier despite Cahun’s wish to not become famous. To further her fame, David Bowie hosted a specific exhibition for Cahun’s work in New York in 2007.

“You could call her transgressive or you could call her a cross dressing Man Ray with surrealist tendencies. I find this work really quite mad, in the nicest way.Outside of France and now the UK she has not had the kind of recognition that, as a founding follower, friend and worker of the original surrealist movement, she surely deserves.”

Nothing could better do this, I thought, than to show her photographs through the digital technology of the 21st century and in a setting that embraces the pastoral sanctuary of her last years.

Conveniently for me, me and my dad live in Cahun’s old property in Saint Brelade’s, Jersey. Looking through her series of images, you can see where she’d taken some of her photographs on the property which is obviously an interesting and unique situation for me as a photographer and fan of Cahun’s work.  We have access to a few Cahun based sources which of course are beneficial for my study into the artist. In order to further my research into the photographer, I plan to utilize the Societe Jersiaise online archives. This process will help me piece together the history of the environment me and my father live in whilst exploring a famous and relevant photographer.

Examples of Claude Cahun’s photographic surrealism…

Paris, 1915

Bifur, 1930

Paris, 1928

Paris, 1928

Paris, 1917

Paris, 1939

An image of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore’s graves with their actual names, which reinforces how their fantasy names which everybody recognizes them by, are ignored and their reputation and work is unappreciated which coincides with Claude Cahun’s involvement in the image to follow.

This image created by Claude Cahun depicts her relationship with her partner; Marcel Moore. This image was taken in 1928, long before homosexual relationships were socially acceptable, yet Claude Cahun experiments with this sense of surrealism as she photographs herself and her partner. Although Cahun and Moore maintained a low profile despite their alternative style of photography, in their death their work has been appreciated by the likes of Bowie as they’ve been deemed the founders of surrealism.

Cahun explores the use of two different mirrors to exploit two different emotions as behind closed doors the couple’s homosexual relations are acceptable which is evident through the joy of Marcel Moore. Cahun’s facial expression is more of a concern as she faces society. The intimacy of the image can be displayed by the indirect eye contact of the couple in question. Although both females, Cahun uses the mirrors to divide up the image as she exploits her androgynous physical nature. Note how Cahun (left) is looking away from the mirror and is dressed like a man to the outside world, however, Moore (right) is peering into the mirror, suggesting she prefers the side to Cahun that is not socially accepted. Marcel Moore looks into the mirror smiling as she is excited by the alternative side to Cahun, which can be fundamentally be seen as subversive which reflects the couples life as they often went against authority, for example, in Jersey during the occupation, they created anti-Nazi propaganda. Contrastingly, Cahun who faces the real world has a blank facial expression as she creates this sense of a facade as she cannot expose her feelings to society as it was not acceptable.

Although the image is not what we’d expect of a family photograph, Cahun does display the struggles her and her partner faced to be with one another as they tried to create a family, especially in the small community of Jersey.

I thoroughly enjoy the meaning of this image as a couple from the early Twentieth century challenge society’s pretensions and they act loyal to their subversive nature. The more I study on the work of Claude Cahun, the more interesting and meaningful the images become as although she started her photography over a hundred years ago, her contemporary style is very fitting to modern day society. This image also inverts expectations as we’d expect a lesbian to promote homosexuality and paint it in a pretty picture, however, Cahun focuses on the struggle she faces for being different, which fundamentally, led to global attention she has received now she’s dead.