David Whyte

David Whytes artworks are a direct reflection of his life experiences, the places he has lived, the development of a personal visual literacy, and the craft skills acquired through decades of working as a commercial photographer.

The first true peace of mind he ever experienced came from being in places far removed from the built environment and the crush of other human beings. He was not taking photographs then, but those landscapes and moments have continued to influence and inform the images he seeks to create today.

His work invites the viewer into a moment of being there, exploring and documenting fecundity, mortality, and the quiet narratives he observes as life unfolds.

He arrived at Heathrow at 2:30 pm on 20 January 1976 from his birth country of New Zealand, following three months in South Africa. Finding his feet in the strange, unfamiliar, and at times hostile city of London, he began assisting photographers, surviving on subsistence wages while working in the demanding world of high-end fashion photography.

After several years, he established his own client base, photographing editorial assignments, reportage, and public relations commissions, initially working exclusively with 35mm film.

An opportunity then arose to base himself in a large commercial studio in Clapham. Before long, he was working with large-format film cameras on advertising campaigns for design groups and commercial clients. As the business environment changed, the studio was forced to close, prompting a move to a shared studio in the emerging creative district of Clerkenwell. Commercial studio space proved increasingly unstable, leading him to establish his own studio in Brick Lane, E2, then one of London's most fashionable and edgy neighbourhoods. In 1988, however, some clients considered it too far from central London.

Rather than pursuing only prestigious advertising campaigns, he made the conscious decision to focus on building a sustainable commercial photography practice. His ambition was to spend his time making photographs rather than chasing a handful of high-profile commissions. It proved to be a sound and pragmatic business decision. Within a few years, his business was thriving, while he continued to undertake selected high-end retail campaigns. During this period, he also developed a distinctive photographic style and an innovative photo-compositing technique, attracting a broader and more diverse range of clients.

His passion for photography naturally extended into other visual disciplines, leading him to undertake a self-directed education in visual culture and what he came to understand as the psychology of vision.