Ja'bagh Kaghado was born in USA, graduated Fashion Institute of Technology "FIT" NYC in 2001, major in Photography. He lives and works in Paris and Moscow. Ja'bagh's personal exhibitions took place in Moscow Museum Of Modern Art.
Ja'bagh Kaghado came to Moscow more than 10 years ago and worked with a variety of glossy magazines quite for a long time, but finally returned to things that are closer to him: city culture, music, underground. In pursuit of something new Ja'bagh began a director career making music videos, promo and social videos, short-length films. Nowadays he is making his first full-length movie.
Each artwork made by Ja'bagh is a synthesis of painting, collage and photography. "I started working on this series "TORN" with a more colorful outlook on my work. I feel life is more about bursts of bright colors when going deeper into what I am doing. I begin by layering large format prints, two or more of the same image which I glue directly onto the canvas, and then begin my process of tearing. I tear certain fragments of the top image to give us a peak into the mood and feel, as if I am peeling the skin off the image to see what's underneath. Later I staple all the edges of the work to the canvas to give it a more imperfect esthetics and a slight brutality. The stapling also serves as a metal frame to keep the image flat. Further I start painting the canvas in different color pallets to satisfy the energy I am feeling at that giving moments". Works from this series are more colorful in comparison to other earlier works and made especially for the Moscow International Biennale Fashion & Style in Photography.
Ja'bagh also works with a rare technique of platinum-palladium print. "I am always searching and experimenting with new unique techniques", Kaghado says. Some photographers use platinum printing to produce "picturesque" effects and unrealistic images, and most of current supporters of platinotype are interested primarily in its extremely broad and distinguished tone scale, allowing transmitting the world around through photographs utterly authentic.
Platinotype picture consists of ultimate particles of metal. Platinum and palladium are considerably more inert than silver used in silver bromide prints and therefore platinotypes have better archival safety. Moreover, an image is formed directly on the fibers of the paper instead of gelatin emulsion, which is subject to change over time. At various times Frederick Evans, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Irving Penn and many other famous photographers worked with platinum-palladium printing.
Special guest of the "TORN" project is Ja'bagh's brother Zak, known mainly as a curator and author of provocative projects on critical social issues.
Zak's new project presented for the Biennale Fashion & Style in Photography is not like he used to have done before, though connected with his past projects. Zak 's works, bright and bold, will clearly surprise anyone who has followed his work since his debut although, the continuity of the works with his past is quite strong. The author is inspired by images from post-punk promotional street posters, LP inserts, video recordings, and cassettes.