Jon Edwards

How did you get into photography? How long have you been shooting?
Something caused by the absence of feeling. Preserving life because I don't know how to feel. I had the idea that I might one day be able to if I spend the time looking. I want to call it still recent. Some years if it's my third. I'm not sure.

Can you describe what it was like seeing your first prints?

It's nice to go back into moments I forgot about and imagine that there is something to feel. When I moved on to Polaroid it was amazing and magical to see the prints exist so soon with as much feeling as other film or more. I played games and pretended that the pictures already existed inside the camera and I would just have to find the spot to release them. Now I'm trying to find what's in my head and it might take a few tries before it appears. It's getting steadier.

Whats your process like? What equipment do you use?

Relies heavily on estimation and chance. I want to say I'm instinctive. I get ideas just from past observations and there's always very much I want to try. Sometimes when I have a moment I like to make it into a picture, and for whatever reason I feel inclined to share. I mostly like to be on my own. I've found that self-portraiture is one of the most convenient ways I can convey an idea. I always use a spectra system and build up a confident relationship with the camera before the picture can be ready to release. I try to complete the image before this release and disfavor the use of any subsequent alterations unless it's the stove. Double exposure is my favourite choice. I use a digital projector and a mirror to help me. I'm interested in assemblages and unification. I hate to be straightforward.

How long has it taken you to get where you are visually?

I was born and then I had to find out how to be like this. I couldn't say I've arrived. Where am I now?

Is there anything you'd like to experiment with? Other cameras or different mediums altogether?

I look forward to the time I can spend drawing. I want to work with fabrics and also build what I won't call sculptures. I'll use other cameras again but I make polaroids most comfortably. I am very emotionally crushed by the thought of not being able to do this forever.

Who is making stuff that inspires you these days?
I don't know how to answer this.

Favourite painters, musicians, photographers, fashion designers,
writers, lawyers, doctors?
For now I only love sea monsters.

Do you have any collections?

I'm sad that I have so few at this time. Recently thecray parts were littered along the bike path again but I didn't have the time to gather as many as I need. It's sometimes sad to hold onto them because I have to see the colour fade away. I found the most magnificent blues that I would want as my skin. They grow greyer with each look. Last year's collection is especially depressing to see now exhumed from a closet. I also collect bones but have too few to be proud of. The skull of one cat from a friend and a collected dove that we could not take care of. There are some others.

What does your average day consist of?

For the whole day I frown because these months have not passed.

Your images are always very layered eerie and vibrant. Did it take a lot of experimentation to get to where you are now?

They don't exist sitting there on their own. People think of double exposure as such a random process but it makes sense if you really understand how it works. I think I have a good understanding and I've come up with techniques to achieve specific results. Most notably I took pictures for 150 days but who cares. I see flaws. There's not much I'm entirely satisfied with at this point.

What ideas are you trying to get across to the viewer?

I strive for a certain degree of ambiguity. I offer fragments of ideas and don't often complete the sentences. That's to say I think there is a lot to be gathered. I hope to at least provide a gripping force. Sleep loss theme exists in all present images. Grown from moods if I had any.

Do you have a hard time sleeping?

But I'm in high school still and all of this couldn't ever agree with me. I could always stay asleep if not woken by this schedule. Too much to do or I just avoid it because I know my sleep efforts will regardlessly be unsuccessful. When I go to sleep I think about the most unfortunate awakenings I inevitably face and as the stress builds it becomes a horrid task. It hurts to know what I'll feel when I see that there are so few hours I can spend sleeping and it's so devastating that I stay awake for hours more. The thought of how bad I'll feel the next day is of course less painful than what really hits me. When I get the chance to lie in a bed all I want to do is think.

Somehow in childhood I came to think of sleep as a weakness. Always said with pride that I'm never tired. There's that vulnerability associated with sleeping. I still fear it.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I'll take some walks.

Do you have any dream projects you'd like to put together in the future?

I hope that I'll soon have the power to tell stories and build some new scenes. Things being decorated and not so recognizable as a human form. More water. If I can find some areas and people I want to have in my life I should have what I can't imagine now.

I think your style would translate well with video. Is that something you've explored or wish to?

It's a long-term adjustment. When I can control time I'll see what I can do.

Any last words?
I haven't been paying attention.

You can see more of Jon's work on his flickr.