Peter Jaques: Babble

Peter Jaques describes his art as 'performed photography'. As Jaques explains he has "a particular interest in the science of photography and the age old traditions used in its construction which stems from [a] fascination and love of language and storytelling." He takes inspiration from classical works such as Orpheus and Eurydice and the Twelve Labours of Hercules, first making recordings then, using these recordings, he enters his dark room and begins writing, in the dark, line after line of text on photographic paper. The viewer does not see this performance, only the results. Printed on the wall as you enter the gallery are the words: "The more instinctive the marks, the more illegible the words become." That being the case, these marks were extremely instinctive. The result is not the mess you may expect; instead there is a gentle decorative beauty to the work. Despite the wild gestural quality, you still find yourself trying to make sense of it all, with the occasional word seeming to leap forward from the paper. Jaques' work takes the traditional process of photography into an interesting and innovative direction. It may not be what you would expect from a photography exhibition but it is interesting and well worth the visit. [Michael Kynaston]