This work is a series of conceptual self-portraits. It was taken from home on my usual DLSR, Lumix G7, fitted with an adapted Canon L series 24-70mm lens and shot at a low shutter speed to create the in-camera dual blurring effect. I take heavy inspiration from the haunting paintings of Francis Bacon. In Mental Static, each image represents a dual emotional shift to evoke the violent and seemingly surprising change of reality and this shift within myself as a person, coming to terms with my own worth, emotions, and self in an isolated setting. I wanted to portray grief throughout eight images, the rapid transgression of a person who starts distressed or bothered and ends by image eight as nothing, a shell of his former self. ​​Existentialism cautioned that the battle to retain our sense of self was a constant one, heroic and tragic. Each one of these images is my attempt at interpreting and expressing that idea through the medium of photography.

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About

Jack Clarke was born in Salford in 1998. From a working-class background, Jack is almost entirely self-taught in photography. He learned many applicable skills whilst attending Salford University and working unpaid jobs. Jack’s has been featured in Artdoc Magazine previously, Overthinkzine, and soon to be featured in the August issue of Philosophy Now! Jack aims to shine a light on Manchester’s creatives and creative scene through his work within this region. Self-taught and using minimal equipment, Jack aims to deliver abstract, provocative and unique imagery inspired by the works of Francis Bacon and Edvard Munch that can connect on a personal level with people from similar distressing and working-class backgrounds.