James Moreton
In the eyes of James Moreton, zines are seen to be the most accessible and favourable medium of photography thanks to their ability to create an impact through the use of pairing, juxtaposing and narrative flow to tell a story or instill an emotion, a method “unsurpassed by any other photographic medium”.
“a very interesting and intriguing modern art form.”
~ 3 page spreads from the zine “Down Town”
Moreton has produced his own solo zines as well as collaborating on collective zines, two processes he says are very different. His techniques are used for both experiences but in a smaller portion for group zines where he is only enabled limited space for his images. This inspires him to make more zines to present his projects in.
Analysis
“Figments” is a project that looks deep into the subconscious of James Moreton. Inspired by the poetry of W.B. Yeats, his work represents his thoughts, dreams and nightmares. The above image depicts a dark figure standing before a bright door of light, possibly hinting at something stopping him from reaching a goal. The figure is faceless as he does not know what this factor is.
An eerie atmosphere is created by the use of a vignette that surrounds this central figure, the focus is maintained due to a harsh overexposed portion of artificial light that falls behind them. The tones of darkness are emphasized by converting the image to black and white. A slower shutter speed is used to cause a soft blur of motion by the figure also adding to the nightmarish effect.
Moreton’s placement of images in his zines is very simplistic as he relies more on narrating a story or emotional sequence through the order of images. This is the reason for his choice of single large images on a page or spread.
Providing a big inspiration, W. B. Yeats’ poetry shows his fascination with the occult, made up of symbolism in a traditional form in many of his poems revolving around dreams.
Her Dream
“I dreamed as in my bed I lay,
All night’s fathomless wisdom come,
That I had shorn my locks away
And laid them on Love’s lettered tomb:
But something bore them out of sight
In a great tumult of the air,
And after nailed upon the night
Berenice’s burning hair.”
W.B. Yeats
