Philip Gatward

Black Dahlia #1 - Philip Gatward, Contemporary Photography, Plants, Flowers

Philip Gatward was born in Essex in 1960 and has worked as a successful photographer, in the advertising industry for over 20 years. Recent clients include Nike, Conde Nast, Elle Decor, Phillips, Cadbury, Boosey & Hawkes, Coca-Cola, Heineken, V&A, Design Council, Heals, Easy jet, Nat West, CinVen, Premier foods, Compass, Wrangler, SES, Sky, Thorn, Lloyds, DSGI. Philip also works on a variety of personal series’, the first being ‘Dahlias’, which is an ongoing project. The approach to these photographs all shot against the same neutral grey background, brings out the fascinating symmetry of seeing something seemingly ordinary from very close up. The stunning variety and colours of these images are proving irresistible. The second series ‘Italian Greyhounds’ studies the beauty and uniqueness of his subjects. Viewing them together compels you to notice the detail that distinguishes them. 2009 saw the completion of the project ‘Stable’ (a set of studies of white, sliced bread), and work continuing on the folios ‘Pigeon I/ Pigeon II’, an as yet unfinished series of studies of creatures that Phillip considers “strange beauties”. Most recently, in 2010 Philip completed a series of portraits of the tribes of Ethiopia. Shot in South Omo, a region bordering Kenya, the photographs capture “the old and the young, the fierce and the gentle”.