Spotlight: Jake Terrey

Looking through the portfolio of Jake Terrey, we feel an overwhelming sense of humanity, and then, a feeling best described as somewhere between constraint, and freedom; perhaps - transparency.
A self-trained photographer who leads with intuition and captures the essence of truth, in balance with the whimsy of fantasy, his works collide at the meeting points of composition, movement and intimacy, often between the realms of editorial and portraiture. The scales tip toward structured, textured realism in his personal documentary series - an honest and sensory representation of a world on pause. Jake transports us, inspires us, and humours us.

We get an incredible sense of humanity and contemplation, what’s your story?

What’s my story? .... haha I have no idea. Whatever it is that I write won’t be something I recognise as exhaustive enough to be worth writing and if I spent the time I’d probably think... is that it?

My agents have always written my bios for me because I find it so hard, but I’ve never connected with whatever it was they said. They usually say something close to, ‘Jake is a photographer who grew up on the northern beaches of Sydney.’

I read recently, “the ease of having an ambition is that it can be explained to others. The very dis-ease of ambition is that it can be so easily described to others” - David Whyte

Your work is layered: edgy and interesting, and your style feels bold and defined, though experimental (we get a hint of fun) - how do the ideas and concepts for these come about to evolve into a unique style such as yours?

Hahaha I’ll accept some of those words. If you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss stares back. You can’t genuinely try to do something for too long without it becoming a reflection of yourself and you a reflection of it. I love the ridiculous and all the tragedy and comedy that comes from that. Or rather I love the tragic comedy of how ridiculous everything is. I just try to respond to things and about 100 ideas later we end up making something.

Bowie used to have this deck of cards with various different musical or creative obstacles written on them for whenever he’d get stuck. An idea follows the path of least resistance to the obstacles in its way. It’s easy to get from A-B but if you want to get to Q there’s a lot of beats you have to hit on the way and they often present as problems.

Talk us briefly through one of your most loved projects or captures? Inspiration can come at any time and our process isn't always linear.

My most loved project has to be the next one! And of that I can’t talk. I love working with my friends. A great thing is many smaller great things coming together. I am a small thing.

Your Documentary Series is beautiful, raw, emotive. Is this considered your 'time-off', or a project as important as your editorial and fashion work?

Closer in I think of myself more as a documentary photographer. Or even if I’m creating or manufacturing a scene I want to approach it in a documentary way. I am most happy by myself somewhere new with a camera and a suitcase full of film.

When you sit still, what do you think about?

Music, my cat, a beer.

jaketerrey.com

Ming NomchongMay 4, 2021