Being influenced by film many of James Clancy‘s works are photo series and have a narrative character. He has always been intrigued by the sense of tension and uncertainty invoked by the dark shadows, be it in a nature or urban environment, solitary figures of the night with the contrasts created from the various lighting present. Classic film with all its aesthetic and thematic values has always been an inspiration for him with all its plots, characters and settings. Nature in the evening or a city at night with all its dramatic light, its romantic, intimate streets are some of his favorite places to disconnect and clear his head and think with real clarity or sometimes imagine a drama of no consequence. Late into the night and beyond into the early hours can be refreshing and intoxicating in equal measure.
“Photography, like so much in life, works in mysterious ways – for me, anyway. And for me I feel the only grand plan is that there is no grand plan.
There are, of course, lots of little plans, most of which lead straight into the sand. It’s all a matter of going on, taking the best photographs I know how and waiting patiently for explanations to emerge.
Sometimes, in frustration, I impose mumbo–jumbo rationale on them, but that just makes matters worse. Allowing the photographs to assert their meaning requires a very long patience.
These series of photographs began several years ago. At the time I didn’t know I was beginning anything at all, least of all something that I’ve come to recognize will not be ‘finished’ in my lifetime.”
-James Clancy
James Clancy was born in 1971, close to the rural town of Newmarket in North Cork, Ireland. In 1990 he moved to Cork City where he later studied film (with emphasis on camera and lighting design) and worked in film making, music and theatre, producing works which were presented and screened at film festivals and on national television. His love of photography grew from these experiences. Since 2004 he has been working solely in photography with most of his works being in black and white. Still being influenced by film James’ works, many of them are photo series, have a narrative character. Since 2006 James has been exhibiting widely in Europe and Asia. In 2011 he published his first photobook called “Border Country”, a black and white photo series, through Kehrer Verlag, a renowned German publisher specialized on photobooks. In November 2011 “Border Country” received the predicate “Selected Title” of the prestigious Deutscher Fotobuchpreis 2012, awarded by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. Since 2015 James Clancy lives and works in Trins, Tirol.
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