Jack Orton says about himself:
“I am a British photographer and my practice depicts an interest in nostalgia, disconnection and narrative by exploring peculiar new towns and urban areas, finding narrative within the spaces and how these locations embody the ideas and beliefs of the individuals that reside them.
Architecture and urban planning are a key concern in my practice, how urban spaces can evoke emotional feelings and how we change these urban areas over time and how the environment changes us. Places such as Milton Keynes and Poundbury fascinate me, as they do not seem tangible, this disconnection that I have with realism is something I portray with my photographs. I really try to disconnect myself from these environments and I often spend more time observing than taking pictures.
Nostalgia is a key aspect of my work. It has been stated that my generation – the ‘millennials’ have an increasing interest in the past and in some senses nostalgia distorts and falsifies our perceptions of both the present and future. We are essentially attaching ourselves to a time we may have not even experienced ourselves. Recent Topics, such as ‘Brexit’ and ‘Make America great again’, all feed into these ideals and I believe my series – “Whispering Blooms” is an example of this new movement towards nostalgia.
I use the landscape for intertwining narratives. This method can give me a more broad subject matter. In my “Whispering Blooms” series, I found an interest in flowers. This is something I wouldn’t have expected to be this important but is now the driving narrative of the project”.
About ‘Whispering Blooms’:
They talk entirely for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is designed to be heard. Evelyn Waugh
1989 saw the release of “A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture” written by Prince Charles. In 1993 his dream became reality, and the urban extension named Poundbury was born.
Although Poundbury is an extension of the Dorset town Dorchester, it is slowly becoming its own community. Described as a “Brexit Bubble” by one of the residents, this series aims to explore the lives of the older generation in the 21st Century and the strong symbolic relationship that we have with flowers.
Whispering Blooms questions this relationship with flowers, from the everyday banal uses, to the placement they behold with our loved ones and the origin of these traditions. The flowers are a continual link to the Poundbury cemetery that quietly sits over looking the town. The link to the flowers and the cemetery is also a reference to Evelyn Waugh’s “The Loved One.” Waugh’s book is based upon a real place called “Forest Lawn” which is a memorial park in America where the rich and famous are placed for the reverence of others.
It seems that the prince wanted to set a scene for his dwellers, creating an illusion of heritage and nostalgia that fuels the ideals of the town. These gentle nationalist ideals are becoming increasingly popular within the mainstream, and this project explores the dubious future that may lay before us.
After all the Prince does talk to his flowers.
