James Sparshatt Prints and Multiples

Esperanza, the hope of youth for a better future. Holguín, Cuba 2002. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm...

Christmas day on Santa Maria beach on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm ...

A woman of vigour and spirit and humour, full of stories, sat on her rocking chair, smoking a cigar, commenting on the world with a word or stream of invective. The Spirit of the Re...

A photograph of Mario locked in a harmonious embrace with his trumpet… a moment of magic in a jazz club in New Orleans. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the ...

El Orgullo - the pride - Holguín, Cuba during Las Romerias de Mayo festival. Women full of pride dancing during Las Romerias de Mayo festival A troupe of female dancers full of all...

Windswept and weather beaten these stakes fight a losing battle against the eternal elements… James Sparshatt’s black and white landscapes from his Norfolk home emphasize the beauty...

A moment of self-reflection in the School of Spanish Dance in the Gran Teatro of Havana. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people...

The sculpted bodies of two dancers during a rehearsal in Santiago de Cuba… James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people. The work is...

It was the last day of the Romerias de Mayo… an amazing annual gathering of the cream of Cuba’s young musical talent in Holguín. The musicians hugged and said fond farewells… those bound for Santiago de Cuba climbed on an old school bus...

Las Memorias… sitting on a rocking chair in Viñales watching the sunset and thinking of life. The wife of a tobacco farmer, a strong woman of generosity and humour lost in thought w...

The old country girl from the Escambray mountains. I was hiking in the mountains, close to Trinidad, when I met the family. They invited me in and we chatted about our different live...

On a musical and pleasure seeking pilgrimage… during Las Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguín. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a strength of character and underlying humour that transcends the struggle that has defined their lives. James Sparshatt went to Cuba in 1999 and was so taken with the island and its people that he returned 15 times in the following 7 years. His images are largely of the music and dance and innate rhythm of the island but he also found himself drawn to an older generation that had been old enough to understand the revolution in 1959, that lived through 40 years of tumultuous and often difficult times and who now watch with some bemusement the return of the outside world in wave upon wave of tourists. James Sparshatt’s photographs of the “Revolutionary” generation of Cubans capture their grit and indominatable spirit. The black and white portrait photograph...

Black and white portrait of a Cuban musician called Dagoberto. Dagoberto began playing his guitar in the Casa de la Trova in Holguin, Cuba, in 1944. Sixty years later in 2004 I had ...

There is a something about being a child on the beach where the sheer exuberance of running into the waves transcends the normal social barriers, and the shared exhilarance allows fo...

Havana Café. El Escabeche is a bar about halfway along called Obispo in old Havana. It was late afternoon when the band began to play. Their new lead singer was performing for the fi...

New Orleans is a mecca for music lovers from around the world. Wandering up Frenchmen Street on a sultry Louisianan evening is to be surrounded by competing sounds vying for attentio...

A woman of vigour and spirit and humour, full of stories, sat on her rocking chair, smoking a cigar, commenting on the world with a word or stream of invective. The Spirit of the Re...

A tobacco farmer from the Viñales valley in Cuba. In 1959 residents of Cuba were faced with a stark choice: stay on their island home and live as a “revolutionary” or leave. Some believed wholeheartedly in the new beginning, some were willing to be carried along and some abandoned everything they had and chose exile. The Buena Vista social club found fame as much for their incredible spirit as for their music, but for me it is the everyman that you meet on the street, cigar clamped between teeth, a glint in the eye, that embodies the true spirit of those who have lived through 50 years of struggle. James Sparshatt’s photographs of the “Revolutionary” generation of Cubans capture their grit and indominatable spirit. The black and white portrait photograph...

Dreams of a moment… James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the moment. The work is available as silver g...

Aodh is a god of the underworld and prince of the Daoine Sidhe in Irish mythology. The crashing waves in this cave made its legend as a gateway to the realm of the Gods entirely u...

There is a something about being a child on the beach where the sheer exuberance of running into the waves transcends the normal social barriers, and the shared exhilarance allows fo...

Puro is Cuban slang for a cigar… alegria is Spanish for happiness… for Graciela both always seemed essential to her being. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generati...

Havana Café. El Escabeche is a bar about halfway along called Obispo in old Havana. It was late afternoon when the band began to play. Their new lead singer was performing for the fi...

An image of adoration and worship. Holguín, Cuba during a festival of dance. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the...

Double bass player wandering along Santa Elena beach in Cuba James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the m...

Lost in each others embrace… James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the moment. The work is available as...

The light of the moon creates an otherworldly ethereal world, a stillness and calm across the spiritual landscaper of the Bagan valley in Burma. J...

A man of gentlemany demeanour, content with his cigar. A sentinel watching the world pass amidst the endless sugar cane country of central Cuba. The Spirit of the Revolution serie...

Dancing to the rhythm of the Gods in Santiago de Cuba… Ochun reborn… James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm ...

The drums that provide the driving beat underpinning Cuban music were brought from Africa. Each distinct rhythm corresponded to a different God in the pantheon of Yoruba deities, all...

A fleeting touch of the lips on a tango dance floor. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the moment. T...

Students of the Spanish School of Dance in the Gran Teatro of Havana. James Sparshatt’s black and white portraits are a search for a connection with a world of emotions. The work i...

The bearded one… in Old Havana. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a strength of...

There is a something about being a child on the beach where the sheer exuberance of running into the waves transcends the normal social barriers, and the shared exhilarance allows fo...

There is a something about being a child on the beach where the sheer exuberance of running into the waves transcends the normal social barriers, and the shared exhilarance allows fo...

Saiorse is the Irish Gaelic word for freedom. It suggests the yearning of emigrants to set off on a journey to a new world… where everything is brighter and more magical. The sea is...

Fuerza y Poder – Strength and Power. The Raphael Trejo gym is an institution of Old Havana. An open air gym that has produced world beating champions from bare-footed initiates. I...

El Ensayo (the rehearsal) was taken during the Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguin Cuba. The troupe were preparing for a performance of Afro-Cuban dance...

The all-female Cuban group Morena Son playing in Holguin. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the mome...

Lake Sillustani sits at over 4000m above sea level in the high altiplano of Peru. Overlooking the lake on a raised plateau a series of tall Incan Funerary towers dominate the lansdca...

A woman of Santiago de Cuba. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a strength of ch...

Each day the students at the School of Spanish Dance in Havana strut and twirl and leap across boards tin dance studios hat have seen better days. The da...

Portrait of Elvirio el Dandy. An icon of Old Havana at the turn of the century. His custom of wearing finery has spawned a whole generation of young “Dandies” who hang out on Havan...

El Ensayo (the rehearsal) was taken during the Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguin Cuba. The troupe were preparing for a performance of Afro-Cuban dance...

New Orleans is a mecca for music lovers from around the world. Wandering up Frenchmen Street on a sultry Louisianan evening is to be surrounded by competing sounds vying for attentio...

Tango on the street corners of Buenos Aires James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the moment. The work ...

Dreams of a moment… James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the moment. The work is available as silver g...

Two dancers entwined with a gancho… in a milonga tango club in Buenos Aires James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the...

A dance troupe in harmony rehearsing in an old theatre in Santa Clara, Cuba James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the ...

Dancers during the Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguin Cuba. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the ...

The school of Spanish dance is housed in the upper floors of the Teatro Garcia Lorca in Havana. The wooden floors of the rehearsal rooms are worn and pitted, the mirrors stained, but...

A musician from the band Iroso Obba at home with his collection of discs James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhy...

Dancer in the School of Spanish Dance in the Gran Teatro in Old Havana. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhyt...

The all-female Cuban group Morena Son playing in Holguin. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people lost in the rhythm of the mome...

Music in Havana is an almost ever present backdrop to life… wandering the streets it is almost as though there is a soundtrack playing to the movie of your life. These school kids we...

A woman of Santiago de Cuba. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a strength of ch...

A moment of self-reflection in the School of Spanish Dance in the Gran Teatro of Havana. James Sparshatt’s photographs of music and dance capture the emotion and intensity of people...

Each day the students at the School of Spanish Dance in Havana strut and twirl and leap across boards tin dance studios hat have seen better days. The da...

Te veo… I see you. Matanzas 2005. The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a strength ...

The light of the moon creates an otherworldly ethereal world, a stillness and calm across the spiritual landscaper of the Bagan valley in Burma. James S...