AD 265 | Justin Tyler Close

Justin Tyler Close (b. 1984, Toronto, Canada) is an award-winning director, photographer & visual artist.

Justin founded the internationally distributed arts publication The Lab Magazine and was the active editor-in-chief/creative director from 2010-2018.

The interview magazine featured artists, designers, filmmakers, and activists such as Marina Abramovic, Wes Anderson and Noam Chomsky.

In 2020, Justin created his audio-visual installation titled The Fifty Eleven Project, which was exhibited at the prestigious Copenhagen Contemporary Museum.

Soon after, Justin wrote and directed two award-winning short films, Like Father Like Son and Where The Time Goes. 

He is currently developing several projects, and set to direct his debut his feature film in the fall, 2025.

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

• Justin’s life in Athens, Greece (00:02:07)
• What Justin has been focusing on recently (00:05:09)
• The beginning stages of Justin’s painting process and nostalgia (00:08:45)
• Being nomadic, defining a home, and socially imposed ideals (00:12:26)
• Justin’s daily process and finding a flow state (00:22:06)
• Justin’s thoughts about turning 40 and what he learned in his 30s (00:27:49)
• Finding a balance between personal and commercial work (00:28:20)
• Finding our artistic voice (00:41:07)
• Justin’s advice to his younger self (01:00:02)

artistdecoded.com
jaeclose.com
instagram.com/justintylerclose