Take a straightforward portrait and turn it into something figurative—this is what photographer Jake Verzosa has demonstrated in his latest body of work “Harbinger,” inspired by Magic the Gathering cards and other role-playing games. Or, as Verzosa put it simply, “I like the word.”
A fixture in the fashion industry, Verzosa presents the model, the very subject he is used to working with, in another light—as a vessel of form and movement. His images aim to document a figure in transition, to record what transpires when his subject is asked to interpret a series of cloud formations through movements across the canvas of the camera frame.
Take a closer look at the hazy black-and-white images and you will discover distinct human forms juxtaposed alongside random storm cloud formations.
Verzosa’s latest images are a tight combination of a series of photographs he took in 2005 documenting cloud formations and a moving human body, top Philippine fashion model, Ria Bolivar. “I thought that it would be interesting to record human movement without any direction from the photographer. It should emerge from within the subject,” says Verzosa.
It is evident in his works that a strong connection with the image, idea, and even the subject is a significant factor in Verzosa’s artistic process. Bits and pieces of the artist’s life are subtly displayed in this body of work—his success as a fashion and commercial photographer, his fascination with science, and his personal inclination to take photographs rather than making them.
“I usually use film for my personal works, but for this body of work, since it involved a lot of trial and error in terms of capturing beautiful accidents, it made more sense to shoot in digital,” he adds.
Documentary
The exhibition is a manifestation of form captured in a documentary and organic style. “Change is always permanent, and photography is my way of moving through time. I am motivated to do works that I feel are significantly larger than me.”
The 32-year-old Manila-based artist is inspired by other photographers, musicians, random conversations, and hearing success stories and seeing unusual beauty, and is keen on shooting stories about beauty, culture, social issues, and the human spirit. He is busy with his family, commercial work, and a long-term project documenting the last tattooed women of Kalinga. He has traveled extensively around Southeast Asia and his works have been exhibited in Manila, Singapore, and Paris.
Jake Verzosa’s “Harbinger” opens on March 15, 2012, at Silverlens Gallery, simultaneously with Pow Martinez’s “Cyborg Scallops” at Silverlens SLab and Maria Taniguchi’s Untitled (Celestial Motors) in Silverlens 20SQUARE. All shows run until April 14, 2012.
For inquiries, contact Silverlens Gallery at 2/F YMC Bldg. II, 2320 Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati, tel. no. 816- 0044, 0917-5874011, or [email protected].
Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., www.silverlensphoto.com/ slab.silverlensphoto.com.
