Jake Gatehouse (b.1996) graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2021 having studied Fine Art Photography. He was a selected artist in the Futureproof 2021 exhibition at Stills Gallery where he was awarded 1st prize in the Jill Todd Futureproof Award.
Gatehouse is a multidisciplinary artist specialising in photography. His work is concerned with how photographic images exist and operate next to reality, as well as examining the role of performance in image making. Gatehouse combines a conceptual approach to working with prioritising space for experimentation and intuitive development during the making process.
The work exhibited is a selection of Submerged Self-portraits from the long-term series These Systems Are Not Static, and includes video documentation of the process. Using a large format 4×5 camera and a mechanical self-timer, Gatehouse sets off the timer and then runs into a body of water (the sea, rivers, lakes, lochs for example) then dunks under before the shutter is released.
The project is an ongoing investigation into how we perceive and interact with our environment but also the implications of image making at this time of climate and political crisis.
Currently there are 50 successful Submerged Self-portraits.
