ALEX JOWETT
Nomad Soul

“He who does not travel can not know the true value of man!” - Ibn Battuta

Photographer William Klein once said that most photographers will leave an average of around 25 memorable images shot at 1/125th of a second, leaving roughly two minutes of their lifetime experiences recorded. Writer, Photographer, Artist, Philosopher, Traveller, Alex Jowett wishes to leave more than his two minutes worth. A student of philosophy at Dalhousie University, Alex has been travelling the world for years. Interspersing writing and shooting on various internationally published editorial and commercial assignments with his own travels and projects. In doing so, Alex has ended up as a guest in many countries and homes worldwide. With his photos and writings he chooses to celebrate both the diversities and similarities of peoples throughout the world as well as the way peoples relate to each other and their environments.

A self-taught photographer Alex’s work has been influenced by a wide variety of artists. Most notably are the photographers Peter Beard, William Klein and Nobuyoshi Araki, but also such well-known painters as Howard Hodgkin, Morris Louis, Karel Appel and Jackson Pollack. Alex fuses predominantly black and white photos with brilliant colour strokes of ink and paint, with collaged found material. While not quite collage, nor your usual photography it is best described by Alex. “My pieces are essentially a coming to life of my memories of the places I’ve been and the people I’ve come across. My memory doesn’t work in black and white alone…when I close my eyes and think back on my travels words float across images and colours are always prevalent. I don’t travel with an agenda so what comes across in my pieces is simply the way I remember things, for better or worse.” Alex’s pieces are his own personal experiences brought to life and so with each colour stroke, written word and added material Alex expounds his own personal experiences into an artistic medium.

By fusing photography with text, colour and multiple images Alex hopes to leave behind more than his two minutes worth and also hopes that his explorations of such broad themes as; sexuality, freedom, religion and people’s perceptions of themselves and others can, ultimately, aid in an increased understanding of oneself and others.