In Between Gallery: Misadventure
Naomi James
Showing from January until spring 2027 is an image by photographic artist, Naomi James, from her series Misadventure, a cyanotype project focusing on memories of her brother, Simon, who died in 1985. Simon’s death was legally recorded as ‘death by misadventure’, the term implies risk with an unintentional conclusion.
In this project, theme and photographic processes are intrinsically linked. Objects, materials and colours that provoke recollections of her brother are combined to make a photograph using a cyanotype process that mirrors the fragility and transience of Naomi’s memories. She then sews through this image - the colour of the thread is the same as the shirt Simon wore the last time she saw him. The stitching is a metaphor for the contradictory feelings of wounding, healing, absence and presence which continue to be felt by her in the present day. Through this multilayed making process Naomi shifts the work from photograph to sculpture, then back again with the final result being a sewn digital print.
On Thursday 4 February 2027, 6 - 9pm, Naomi will join us to give an Artist Talk as part of our Annual Photography Networking Event. Information and Tickets coming soon.
The In Between Gallery is produced in partnership with Photo Fringe, Spectrum Photographic, POST and Jane & Jeremy.
About The Artist
Based in South London, Naomi has participated in numerous group shows, through organisations such as Photofusion, Shutter Hub, London Independent Photography and Photo Frome. She received recognition at the Fix Photo Awards and has featured in a range of photographic publications, including F-Stop magazine, Personal Work Journal and Analog Forever Magazine. Naomi’s Polaroid series, Lockdown Decay, All Our Landscapes Reimagined, was published in 2022 and exhibited in a solo show at the Jeannie Avent Gallery in Dulwich.
She recently completed her MA in Photography at the University of Brighton.
Fabrica
40 Duke Street
Brighton
BN1 1AG
“As photographers we invest in a visual language, but memory is complex and multi-sensory. For me, relating to the past photographically requires physical engagement. The physicality and materiality of the cyanotype process and the subsequent stitching enabled this. Whilst there is no doubt that photography can freeze a moment and commit it to the past, I discovered that there is something regenerative about the process. It is over 40 years since Simon died and my sister and I will be the last generation to remember him. Over time my memories have become mere associations. Simon’s death involved an element of risk and unpredictability prompting me to work in an experimental way which relied on instinct.”
