Working across performance, photography, and installation, Thomas Jenkins used his residency at Studio Monde to explore the possibilities of large-scale lumen printing. His experimental process embraced uncertainty, pushing photographic materials to their limits.

What’s the core idea behind the work you made during the residency?
The core of this project lies in exploring surface, space, and the fundamental nature of photography itself. Lumen printing with its quiet, almost magical changes offers a way of working that feels both fragile and powerful. I’ve been thinking of it as the paper ‘recording’ the performance of light.‍

What risks were involved in the work you made during the residency?
Working with a 10m roll of out-of-date photographic paper was a significant risk. It’s a precious material, and choosing to expose it in such an experimental and uncontrolled way carried the real possibility of failure. But I’ve learned that those kinds of risks are often the most rewarding. The unpredictability becomes part of the story the work tells.

Can you describe a moment that stood out during the process?
One of the most memorable moments came after setting up the lumen print installation under UV lamps. Watching the exposure process unfold on the large-scale paper was intense and absorbing but it was the moment I turned off the lights and saw the reaction take hold with the subtle variations of colour really resonated. Witnessing the transformations occurring on the surface of the paper in real-time was exciting, I felt like I was catching the paper in a moment of triumph.

How has the residency changed the way you think about photography?
It reminded me that photography is not just about the image, but about the conditions of its making – the scale, the materiality, the atmosphere. I’ve come away with a stronger sense of photography as a performative and sculptural medium, and a deeper commitment to embracing risk, slowness, and process.
It has also reminded me about how the studio is the photographer’s canvas, to create in traditional and non-traditional ways.

What will you carry forward from this experience?
On a practical level, I now know that a 10-metre print may need more than one assistant. But more importantly, I’ve realised I don’t have to limit myself because something feels too ambitious or logistically complicated. With the right environment and support, large ideas can be made real.

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Explore more of Thomas’s work:
www.thomasjenkinsstudio.com
Instagram: @tominfurs

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