Matt Durrant is in the middle of a love-hate affair with photography.

Bored of digital, but intrigued by analogue, his art practice now consists of “neurotic creative investigations conducted into the elusive ether of snapshot photography”.

His latest show, Art Which Imitates Photography, opens tomorrow as the first showcase of the ArtWork series, an artistic collaboration in York between Barleycorn Yard creative agency Stone Soup and Tower Street gallery The ArtSpace.

“In his graduate exhibition at York St John University last month, Matt presented disorientating imagery produced from one of his experiments, which involved tampering with 35mm films before they were used to take photographs, but that was only the tip of an iceberg,”

says ArtSpace co-owner Greg McGee.

“With this new show at Stone Soup, Matt will be taking the opportunity to reveal much more of this eclectic practice and open up his intellectual process for people to see. His 2D photographic pieces will be complemented by new video and installation works, resulting from and reflecting an ongoing exploration of the fickle theme of photography.”

Greg has watched Matt’s art develop with interest, first showing his work at The ArtSpace in March. “ArtWork needed a sparky show to kick off the summer series at Stone Soup and Matt’s approach to photography is ideal,” he says.

“He frames it in a way that makes it feel vivid and collectable, like a stamp collection from Mars. I can’t wait to see how he is planning to stretch himself with an installation to give the show an extra depth.”

Matt is the first of five 2010 graduates from York St John’s fine art degree course to have been signed up for ArtWork’s summer run of shows by emerging York talent. Tom Hodgson, Clare Nattress, ArtSpace prize winner Jack Cook and performance artist Steve Humble will follow him into Stone Soup’s offices off Walmgate.

“All of the chosen artists will bring something new to the table and all are very capable of making a splash,” says Greg. “It’s a chance for them to begin branding themselves and find their own groove. Both Tom Sharp [Stone Soup’s creative director] and I are very pleased to be in a position to help them on their way.

“They have learned so much from their course at York St John and they have been pushed so hard to craft their ideas that they’re like soldiers.

They’re not the airy-fairy arty type; they have an extremely healthy work ethic. Gallery owners all over the UK should watch their trajectory with interest.”

Greg praises Tom Sharp for championing exciting art. “He has provided the artists with a real gift in the shape of the Stone Soup offices and their visiting clients,” he says. “It really is one of the hottest tickets in York’s cultural summer; there’s such an entertaining fecundity with the cross pollination of clients, the ArtSpace team and York St John’s brand new graduates.”