“Images are the oldest, most effective way to communicate. But what is the secret of their magic? Look at a photograph and observe yourself: It is the only trick of us humans to make the time stand still. I love it.” - Tom Jacobi
Tom Jacobi’s hugely popular and acclaimed series ‘Grey Matter(s)’ is shortlisted in the Professional competition of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Can you talk to us about the concept behind your series ‘Grey Matter(s)’?
This project saw daylight in the grey light of the Antarctic. A friend of mine had chartered a ship to sail down there and asked me to join. Antarctica is often described as the ‘blue & white continent’. That’s rubbish! It’s only blue & white when the sun shines, and that is rarely the case. Pitch dark in winter, and in summer it’s mostly covered by clouds, but that’s the time Antarctica presents itself at its best: no more colours, just all possible shades of grey. Then and there the idea was born: A portrait of our colourful world either at times or at places, where there is no colour.
The whole concept is concluded in its title: GREY MATTER(S), expressing several aspects of the project:
1) It refers to the colour Grey, which has always been of importance for us. According to legend, God’s son was wearing grey, the colour of undyed wool, worn by peasants and the poor. Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) never had the intention to paint only with grey, but he gave in: “In the course of my work I have eliminated one colour after another and what has remained is grey, grey, grey!”.
In 2014 the English newspaper The Guardian declared grey as the “Colour of the Decade”. The world of fashion would probably jump out of its palace windows in Paris and Milan in sheer desperation if you took away the colour grey. Shades of grey – black, white, grey, silver – account for more than 70 per cent of car colours worldwide. And the Flamant brand’s triumphal march began with grey walls.
You see: People don’t really think about it, but “Grey” is a very dominant colour in our life.
2) Everything happens in our brain which is also called GREY MATTER. Colours are simply reflected light, individually put together in our brain. The colours we see in our daily life are nothing else than a very subjective interpretation of reality, happening inside our “Grey Matter”.
3) And all of the above actually MATTERS. By choosing to present the archaic beauty of our earth without colours, the illusion of a colourful reality is being unmasked. Through the absence of the “Juggler Colour” the planet seems to find peace in the eye of the beholder, just like it might have done a long time before our existence.
Did you go to Iceland with the idea for this series, or was it a more natural process?
Iceland was a natural destination for this project. If you are looking for archaic places on this planet with little colour, you end up in that beautiful, rough country
What inspires you when creating your own work?
I usually use my intuition. I find my inspiration more within myself than outside. If an idea pops up, stays around and continues to feel good despite me thinking about it, I start working on it. My work is primarily a way to express myself.
Do you have a photographic philosophy?
Not really. I can only photograph what I would hang on my own walls. But when I give lectures and get asked for advice for aspiring photographers, I usually say this:
There are 4 columns that are equally important:
- TALENT. If you don’t have it, forget about the rest.
- DISCIPLINE. However talented you are, it doesn’t matter if you’re not ready to agonize yourself. Be ready to embrace lots of work & suffering.
- NETWORK. When you start, nobody is waiting for you. Go and spend as much time as possible within the world you want to succeed in. Even the famous ‘first chances’ usually come out of that network. That network will support your whole career.
- LUCK. For the above three you can do something. But luck is a present from fate. It’s very, very difficult without it. Luck makes all the difference. So believe in it and live a life deserving of it.
Can you tell us what you're working on at the moment?
Because “Grey Matter(s)” was so successful, the new project is a continuation of it. It is another landscape project (my journey to show our world is not finished), but it has a different title and an evolved concept. It’s a two-year-project as well, but too early to reveal anything now!
