Jakub Rokita

Photography is my lifelong passion - ever since I "borrowed" my dad's Soviet Zenit at 15, I was hooked shooting a lot of post-industrial scenery and abstract textures with a shoot-from-hip attitude. Having experimented with thermal techniques when creating b/w photograms, I bought a batch of ageing Agfa 35 mm film and exposed them to various sources of heat - from sitting for weeks on a sunlit windowsill to a flash-cure in the oven. I used those films to capture colours and patterns with a lens-less camera and upcycled lens kits (loose handheld lens elements etc.). The emphasis was on capturing the feeling of what I call "cushy murk", what is now called "liminality" - the almost gutteral, soft ectasy of carefree summer evenings of the days gone, wandering the neighbourhood, listening to music. The mundane romance of random encounters.

Instagram: @cmykscum

Where would you like your work to take you?

I think my work is strongest when I explore moods like above, and I explore those in various media, from photo to video and audio work. I like to find moments of wonder, small, intimate worldsin everyday surroundings.

Which part of your creative process do you enjoy most?

Many projects are long-running and I start-and-stop them depending on inspiration, time available and sometimes - randomness. I guess I really like how various projects cross-contaminate and reinforce each other.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I read/listen to a lot of popular science programmes and lectures on a wide array of topics from human evolution, physics, psychology, history etc. I find a lot of interesting concepts and facts that inspire the thinking behind my projects. Second lifelong inspiration is vintage film: I spend hours siftung through archive.org for 60s nuclear test films, noir b-films, travelogues and so on. I'm drawn to the colours and sound distortions and the nostalgia contained in them. My photographic work is inspired by the manual, rudimentary processes the film and photography were conducted last century and the uncertainty driven by those processes is at the root of many of my projects.

What piece of music would you say compliments your work the most?

If I had to choose one for those particular series of photos, I'd probably go for Portishead - first album, even though it is sadder than the moods I like to evoke, but it has a warmth that draws me back to it.

Can you list a couple other creatives/friends/people you look to for inspiration?

Brian Eno, Mark Fisher, Sam Harris (I listened to Peterson debates countless times), James Burke (Connections series is a masterpiece), Noam Chomsky, Richard D James (Aphex Twin).