b. 1990 Essex, UK. Lives and works in London, UK.
Uncovering the surreal and the sensual in everyday life, Jack Davison’s use of chiaroscuro, framing and exposure as instruments of abstraction draws on a photographic tradition that extends through figures like Saul Leiter, Shoji Udea, August Sander and Man Ray. His playful and curious approach is shaped by the equally formative space of online platforms like Flickr and Tumblr, where he first developed his craft as a young man taking pictures in the Essex countryside.
Davison received his first major commission from Kathy Ryan, photography editor of the New York Times, in 2016. His editorial work has since been featured in publications including the New York Times, Le Monde, Vogue Italia, British Vogue and i-D, and he has worked with fashion labels including Alexander McQueen, Hermès, Burberry, Craig Green and Moncler. His 2019 book Photographs, published by Loose Joints, is now in its third reissue. Song Flowers, a collaboration with the fashion label Marni, was published in 2020. Ol Pejeta, whose subject is the world’s last two living white rhinos in the Kenyan wildlife conservancy of the same name, followed in 2021. A limited-edition annotated artists edition of Photographs was published in 2021.
Jack Davison studied English Literature at Warwick University, UK, and received no formal training in photography. His first solo exhibition was 2016’s Revisiting Pictures at Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam. A group exhibition with Omer Fast and Frida Orupabo took place at Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, in 2021.
EDUCATION
2012 BA English Literature, Warwick University, UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Jack Davison, Photo London with Cob Gallery, London, UK
2022 Photographic Etchings, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2016 Revisiting Pictures, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Jack Davison, Omer Fast, Frida Orupabo, Haus der Photographie, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany