The family of a talented young photographer from West Cumbria who died last week are raising cash for Jigsaw – the children’s hospice in his memory.
Jordan Mossom followed his passion for photography, despite living with a rare muscle-wasting condition. He gained a degree in photography with the University of Cumbria in 2020, aged 23, and his work featured in an international photography magazine.
His sister Hannah said: “We have decided to raise money for Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice, something Jordan would want to give back to.
“Jordan has been going to the hospice for over 12 years. We are incredibly grateful for their amazing work and all of the happy memories Jordan has made there.
“Jordan worked extremely hard to raise awareness of his condition, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
“Jordan was always a positive character and wanted to reassure people with the same condition that life isn’t scary. Jordan said: ‘Whilst I want to give people an insight into some of the things they may take for granted, I also want to give those who are diagnosed with the condition reassurance that life isn’t scary, to show what happens and what can be achieved’.
“Jordan wanted people to know that even living with such a life-threatening illness, a normal life was and is possible.”
His major project for university was called Daytime Disability, which documented his life.
Jordan said: “I used to hide in the shadows and didn’t want people to know or notice that I live with Duchenne. But after the biographical project about myself and now the Go bright series of portraits, I am definitely not in the shadows anymore. Everyone should be free to embrace their lives, be bright, bold and not hide in the shadows because they have a disability.
“I do think photography is part of me. Sometimes it’s like a bit of a release for me to get away from everything to do with my disability, so it’s a form of escapism really.”
One of Jordan’s self-portraits featured on the front cover of Campaign, the newsletter for supporters of Muscular Dystrophy UK.
In an interview with our colleagues at Hollr last year, he said: “It was only after I finished the project and got the positive responses that I did that I realised it might actually help people who might have muscular dystrophy or the families of people that have muscle wasting conditions and show that life is just as normal even when you have all the medical equipment and support staff and that you can still be independent.”
Jordan’s family have set a target of £1,000 and have already raised more than £2,270.
To view Jordan’s work, visit https://www.jordanmossom.com/
To donate to Jigsaw, visit https://gofund.me/08aefc71
