Felix Jackson
Damsels #1
Rangatahi semi finalist
Behind the camera
Felix is a photography major at Massey University Wellington. He grew up in Marlborough and moved to Wellington to study.
Why photography?
He finds that is it the perfect niche, between the ambiguity of fine arts and the more regimented ethos of design. “It’s such an applicable medium.”
The snap
Damsels #1 was taken on 35mm B&W film for a darkroom assignment. He wanted a whimsical aesthetic using feminine subjects, like the late-19th-century works he was researching, but made contemporary, attempting to dissolve traditional patriarchal agendas.
Judges’ thoughts
Photographer Steven Boniface says, “I’m not sure if it’s staged or a captured moment. There is a lot of ambiguity to the shot. I want to know what is going on in the scene. I really like the framing as well; there are enough elements to give some context, but nothing is too obvious. The door and wall lead you into the people. They have such contrasting expressions. I’m not usually a massive fan of black and white images, but in this shot I really think it works. It feels very contemporary and the harsh flash isolates the foreground by darkening of the background, which simplifies the shot. Well done.”
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