Your project started almost accidentally during the pandemic. Looking back, how has your perspective on artist portraits and documentation evolved?
Yes, this is true! I moved from taking photographs of musicians to taking photographs of visual artists when the lockdowns happened. I think that I always knew that documenting creatives in any form was important. By taking photographs you are capturing a visual memory that can be built up into an archive, and if nobody else is taking the time to take those same photographs or is focused on a similar subculture or place or moment in time, then some of that visual history can be lost. I’ve always been drawn to people, so by photographing musicians or artists or anybody who I find interesting, then I am helping to preserve the legacy of what has been happening during my time on earth even in a small way.
How has the art scene changed? Have you observed certain developments?
The art scene has definitely changed since I started taking artist portraits in 2020. When I began this project, it was lockdown and artists had time for the first time in their lives where they could work full time and not have other distractions in their lives, so lots of great artwork was being created. Alongside this, lots of people were starting to buy art for the first time as it was something they could collect and invest in, instead of maybe a holiday or a new car. Then after lockdown finished, lots of new galleries started popping up with ambitious art world lovers wanting to be involved in the art scene.
But now, a few years after I got into this world, it has now become harder due to the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. People aren’t spending as much money on luxuries, including art, so people who depend on making art for a living are starting to suffer, and it is becoming increasingly harder for the galleries who recently opened too or even older, more established ones to stay open and keep making money from the sales of art. So, it has changed a lot in those regards. Then regarding the more creative side of art, I think that art is always evolving anyway, new trends come and go. People said that abstract art was back recently and there were abstract-focused shows happening more often, but I think in London it is mostly figurative art that seems to do best.
What does your studio look like? Where do you work?
My studio is in my home. I am currently living on the top floor of a building in Stamford Hill in London. From my desk, I have a view over North London, and now that it is sunnier in London, I am soaking up the sunshine as I edit my work in the mornings, drinking coffee and listening to music. Where I live in Stamford Hill too, it is also in the heart of the London Orthodox Jewish community, so I often hear people singing from my flat, and when I step outside, I am greeted with the community in full. It is interesting to have my studio in this community. I think my photography is often about supporting the community, like with my artist’s project, so being ingrained inside such an old and historic community makes me feel inspired somehow, to go out into the world and make sense of things through my photography.
How do you spend your free time?
I spend my free time seeing my girlfriend, going to exhibition openings, or planning new projects and reaching out to people for photoshoots. I would like to do more things in life, like I would like to go swimming, do boxing, cycle around, and party more, but most of my time in life, to be honest, is spent being involved in photography, whether it’s meeting up with somebody to do pictures or organising it or studying photography. For a long time, my free time was spent studying art and photography so that I could do the best job relating to artists and understanding their influences and inspirations, but now I think I need something new in life, so I think that maybe I will discover something fun to do soon with my free time.
How do you see this project evolving in the future? Are there any new directions you’d like to explore?
I would like to take my artist project to other parts of the world and document other arts communities. I have already been to Vienna to document the Vienna art scene, so I will continue to do that as I really enjoy the city. I feel like photography and documenting culture is very important for the longevity of visual history, and I enjoy meeting new people and taking photographs. A student of the late Professor Alastair Mackinven recently said to me, „It is important to have people in your life or circle who take photographs as it documents your life and the art world in which you live.“ I always knew what I was doing was important, but after hearing that from his student, it put more inspiration in me that by taking photographs of artists, I am doing something good for people and for the legacy of culture in history.
Brynley Odu Davies – www.brynleyodudavies.com, www.instagram.com/brynley.odu.davies/
