Photography on a Postcard is back for its second year as the official charity partner of Photo London. The exhibition includes over 500 photographs - each an edition of 1 - generously donated by world-leading photographers. World-renowned photographer John MacLean has kindly donated work to this year’s auction. We met with him to discover more about his work and the stories behind his photographs!
John MacLean - Hometown of John Gossage, Staten Island, New York - Jmaclean.co.uk
What makes a great photograph for you?
A great photograph is like a great person—it is something I would like to spend time with. A great photograph is both intelligent and mysterious. When I am in 'conversation' with a great photograph I feel a connection—but am always left wanting more. I go back to great photographs again and again.
Tell us about your process when creating a series of photographs. How do you decide which stories/subjects to explore?
I usually work on a number of projects at once. As I progress, some projects fall away—because they are neither interesting enough nor show enough potential. Hopefully… I am eventually left with one project which excites me—and I can throw my energy into it. The alternative would be to have nothing to work on which would be terrible—like being becalmed in a boat at sea. So yes, I note down lots of project ideas in the hope that I will always have one to explore.
You have two sides to your practise - fine art photography and architectural photography - how much does each practise influence the other?
I am aware that I feed the frustrations of my commercial work into my fine art work, that’s for sure. But the flip side is that it’s often wonderful to work to a commercial brief—because I know exactly what is required! The ‘transaction’ in the fine art world is so nebulous by comparison. I think one side of my practice acts as a ‘life raft’ for the other!
Do you have any exciting projects coming up you can tell us about?
I am currently working on a project called 'Your Nature’. The question ‘What makes us who we are?’ is one I also had in mind during my previous project ‘Hometowns’ where I photographed the childhood neighbourhoods of my art heroes. But in ‘Your Nature’ I aim to cast my imagination further back to create metaphors for aspects of human nature and its evolution, primarily by photographing the natural environment and how we react to it.
