LŪX | LIGHT: A Photography Exhibition of Ancient Art with Jaron James

Lūx meaning 'light' in Latin, or a unit of illumination encapsulates the essence of our upcoming exhibition. Featuring photographic prints capturing details of ancient art, the exhibition explores how light can heighten our appreciation of different surfaces, colours and textures. 

We are delighted to be collaborating with photographer Jaron James on this project. Having worked together for many years photographing beautiful and captivating objects, the idea for this exhibition arose from Jaron’s pleasure in shooting select parts of objects, the details.

“These condensed views often offer so much more than a simple crop or close up. If

you look carefully, you can often learn more about an object in a snippet than a

photograph of the whole thing. Fingerprints in black glaze, the surface of marble that

mimics skin perfectly, the other worldly iridescence found in a Roman cup. Texture,

shape, colour and form, (the stories in these images) can all be amplified by removing

what surrounds them.

But this is only possible through careful control of light. With considered light we are

able to see these incredible objects again, with fresh and enlightened eyes, an

opportunity to gaze deeper and not just look.”

Jaron James (b.1975) graduated in Documentary Photography in 2000 from Newport University, South Wales. Relocating to London, he became an assistant in a fine art studio, before moving to The Science Museum as project photographer. Here, he created imagery for a partnership with The Welcome Trust. ‘Brought To Life’, a website documenting the history of medicine, saw him photographing 5000 objects including human remains, prosthetic limbs, a 19th century hangman’s rope and early examples of trephinated skulls.

In 2011 Jaron joined the photography department at the Victoria & Albert Museum. In the five years working here, he shot imagery for collections, exhibitions and publications, including Hollywood Costume, Shoes - Pleasure & Pain, David Bowie IS and Alexander McQueen, his work for the latter inspired an extra chapter in the exhibition publication and an additional “Alexander Mc Queen Cabinet of Curiosities’ website. Pitching ideas to the esteemed V&A Magazine, Jaron also became the first in-house photographer to create original imagery and shoot two covers for the publication.

Now freelancing, Jaron works with a strong client base which includes Kallos Gallery, The National Trust, English Heritage, Leighton House, Art UK, The Powell Cotton Museum and various important Fine Art and Ancient Art dealers. Away from the studio, he also works on personal photographic projects.