MARLON JAMES

NGHTMONKEY

In an age of hyper visibility, nghtmonkey was a short-lived experimental series driven by the allure/intrigue of anonymity.

As a creative, I wonder what value is anonymity in an age of branding and self-promotion? What does this mean for me as an artist? What is more important to the audience, the work or the people attached to it? What appeals to them? What is required to create an image that will appeal to audiences? This is what I continue to grapple with.

This project was an experimental series driven by collaborating with other creatives on particular personal and conceptual ideas. My desire to be incognito was purely out of curiosity to observe if the creator of the image had any value as the image being created. The themes that emerged from the shoot were organic; as creator, talent and myself fed each other’s appetite after the general idea was conceptualised.