Jamie Chung’s Artful, Abstract Photographs for Material Design
This might be strange to read or even to say, but Jamie and I met over drugs. Ambien, to be exact. It was our first shoot together for Marie Claire magazine. We were doing a conceptual still life about a defense contractor who almost lost their security clearance after taking an Ambien and woke up sitting in the back of a police car, still wearing their pajamas, their hands cuffed behind them. Since that first shoot, I have had the pleasure of working with Jamie on several projects (that didn’t involve sleep meds) and only slightly torturing him as the art director. Whether we were shooting for magazines, Google Pixel, experimental shoots for Workspace, and now for Material Design, Jamie manages to turn the simplest, every-day objects into abstract pieces of art with exceptional compositions and incredible lighting.
I had the pleasure of sitting down (virtually) with Jamie for an interview after the project wrapped. Below is our conversation about his inspiration, favorite songs, and the smell of seaweed on day three of a shoot. See below for the details and more questions about the project.
Jamie, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about the shoot you did for Material.io. Let’s kick this off…Could you please tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jamie Chung. I’m a still life photographer based in Brooklyn, NY. Secretly, I’m also a sculptor.
A sculptor‽ I had no idea. Tell me, what is the most adventurous thing you have done today and in your life?
Last week, I rode in a hot air balloon for 15 miles in rural Pennsylvania. It was like a flying dream. Graceful, peaceful, extremely analog. Later today, I’m going to try to impress a group of culinary geniuses with my pepper sauce.
That sounds amazing. Out of curiosity, what is your most played song right now?
“Wish I Didn’t Miss You” by Angie Stone
If you could photograph anyone or anything, who/what would it be?
I would love to capture the impossible picture. A ghost or an alien. Something like that would be really cool. I’d settle for Big Foot or Nessie. In an aesthetic way, of course. Well lit.
What would you be or do if you weren’t a photographer?
Sculptor or surgeon.
What is your favorite place to view art?
I love looking at photo books and going gallery hopping.
What about trends? Which current art world trends are you following?
I’ve been following the popularity of crypto art, though I barely understand it. I’m also not sure I even like it, but it is fascinating. I’ve also been enjoying the resurgence of figurative, nature-based, handmade art works.
How did your career in photography start?
I decided I wanted to be a photographer in high school, so I went to art school, apprenticed for a variety of photographers and then struck out on my own. Some hard work and some luck.
What were your inspirations for this shoot? Were any sea plants harmed in this project?
I really just caught a vibe from some of the reference drawings that the Google team sent. They were pretty abstract, and so I thought about what photographable things would have similar texture, color and form. I meditated on that for a while, and the idea of sea plants came to me. And…. the sea plants were already dead when we got them; we just rehydrated them. Don’t @ me!
What was the most challenging part of the project?
Editing. There was a lot of variety in what we shot, and I really liked a lot of it and felt attached to it. I spent a lot of time deciding between images with slight variations. Picking the best images was challenging.
A lot of the references we showed/discussed were from illustrations, was it difficult to interpret the brief knowing the reference images were a completely different medium?
No, I actually loved it. It allowed me to really use my imagination. I didn’t have a lighting reference. It was more just texture, color, form. So I could let my imagination run free on what to put in front of the camera and how to light it. I really love working this way.
What was the most rewarding part of it?
It was freeing and imaginative and fun. I was very satisfied with the process and the final product.
What surprised you most about this project?
The smell of seaweed on day three.
Ewwww, hahah… Yeah, that can’t be good. What do you want people to know about the collection?
It was a labor of love. A fun project. I also want to credit my incredible stylist, JJ Chan, who helped me source and style.
Do you think any parts from this project will inform your art moving forward?
I learned some things about using colorful gel lights, backgrounds and liquids. Some of the results were unpredictable and not what my understanding of color theory would have suggested. I embraced that. (i.e. these psychedelic blobs of liquid).