As the contemporary photographic world moves as if in fast forward, this photographic series by London-based Jack Savage is committed to the power of memory and its often haunted shadows. Fastidious attention is given to dramatic visual contrast, as well as extreme subtlety in the utilization of all variants of grey.
Studio lighting and visual models within Savage’s images appear mysterious, dark, and seductive. The noir series is inspired by the narrative cinematic legacy of Alfred Hitchcock, and every reference has a connection to film and our recent cinematic past. Just like its title “Definitive Ambiguities”, the photo-images are meticulously constructed with a keen sense of ironic & iconic visual impact.
In fact, multiple award-winning Jack Savage’s visual design studio has production equipment which consists of soft-boxes, strip lights, beauty dishes, and intensive applications of back lighting – all in order to compliment his meticulously-chosen living models, some of whom are accomplished London-accessible fellow-photographers.After shooting in his commercial studio, the process is very much edited in Photoshop. Savage is additionally an adobe expert in Photoshop CC and teaches it both online, as well as one-on-one with his students.He chooses specific models for every shoot based on their appeal & universality. The models are carefully evaluated for each assignment and each needs to be seen as relatable to many different genres of viewers. Savage’s models represent hidden past secrets and desires, and he manipulates the visual tension to clearly be ambiguous.
Savage’s visual mastery and manipulations of shadows and light are nuanced and virtually endless. A consistently masterful employment of light singles him out. And the protagonists’ expressions of femininity and masculinity are strong, recognizable, and powerful, yet also display psychological and even blurred classifications.These are the same figures and noir portraits which are mysterious, even as they stand for “every man” or “every woman”. His landscape work mirrors a extraordinary hand for photographic portraiture, often surreal and yet clings to this very same premise of being haunted by a tragic past. It’s up to the viewer to interpret their own particular meaning to Jack Savage’s own accomplished brand of cinematic imagery.
His landscape work mirrors a extraordinary hand for photographic portraiture, often surreal and yet clings to this very same premise of being haunted by a tragic past. It’s up to the viewer to interpret their own particular meaning to Jack Savage’s own accomplished brand of cinematic imagery.The noir & shadow aspects of this entire series are frequently beset by unresolved “personal” tensions. The deliberate sense of mythology and storytelling made current are also reflected in his noir-inspired title, “Definitive Ambiguities”.
Savage’s photo-based images also refer to a sense of enchanted places we instantly recognize yet somehow have never seen before. The deliberate sense of mythology and storytelling made current are also reflected in his noir-inspired title, “Definitive Ambiguities”. Each figure frequently interacts within his or her narrative landscape. And each displays a sense of sensitivity & vulnerability which most of us immediately recognize and sometimes confront within our own personal life & relationships.
He takes inspiration from the artistic & noiristic designs of great directors of cinema from the 1930’s to the 1950’s: films from masters such as Fritz Lang, John Ford, Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock. Although Jack likes to say that their graphic and searing cinematography are readable in his photographs, it’s clear he has completely made these images his own. [Official Website]
