Jim Ferguson

Harmony

In New Orleans jazz many layers of music and instruments come together in harmony creating something much more compelling than its individual parts. That’s exactly my goal in my series I’ve named “Harmony”. 

Music as a metaphor works for me. Each image is like a different songs with their own rhythms.  It’s about improvisation. It’s about wandering. I wait until a scene raises its hand and warrants a pause. All done in-camera, the disparate elements in the image and multiple layers collide and collude in Harmony to form what has been described as “delightful visual experiences.”

Having been born cross-eyed, corrective surgery left me with no depth perception. Because of this handicap, in much of my work I’m exploring the notion of what we consider truth. Since my vision is different than my viewers, I want the viewers to connect with the work bringing their personal history, vision and imagination to interpret the images.

Reconstructed Space

Unbeknownst to me at the time, my photographic vision was established at birth. Born cross-eyed, corrective eye surgery at two years of age left me with no depth perception. It’s with this altered sense of depth perception that I photograph.  

An anonymous LensCulture reviewer stated of my work “you have the kind of 'mechanism' that disturbs our sense of place and time, leading to a feeling of the uncanny, thinking that we might know these spaces, but cannot ever.” This statement appeals to me because the sense of place and time are unimportant to me. The locations are ambiguous while I strive to make the images both familiar but elusive... transcending and uniting disparate elements into timeless prominence.

Reconstructing the space in camera I make the images layered, graphic, dislocated from place, and disregarding of time while maintaining the truth of the scene. Ultimately, I want the image be a catalyst for the viewer to spark their own relationship to the photograph. My goal is to show images that are both enigmatic and engaging.

Recently I “remerged” back into the fine art photography world, but this is my second round of showing and selling work.  Years back I received a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After getting my BFA, I started showing and selling my work. I was successful from the very start with three galleries representing my work and acquisitions by major museums and numerous private collections.

In the fall of 2017 I re-emerged into the fine art world full time, introducing my work again to galleries and museums.  Since “reemerging” I've exhibited at Catherine Edelman Gallery and I’ve been included in exhibitions curated by April Watson, Elizabeth Houston, Douglas Beasley and Robert Klein. I was also selected for the Top 200 in Critical Mass 2018, featured in the portfolio issue of F-Stop online magazine, and selected as a “Rising Photographer” by All-About-Photo.com.

Images are available as 24 x 30” / 24 x 34” and 32 x 44” / 36 x 44” archival pigment prints made in editions of 15 and 7 for $1200 and $2800, respectively.

Please call: (312) 266-2350 for prices of specific pieces.
Prices are print only unless otherwise indicated.