Initially, UK-based Lydia Whitmore trained in painting, before evolving into a commercial still life photographer with a studio in east London. Whitmore has recently joined One Represents agency and won Best in Book at the 2018 Creative Review Photography Annual. Her work is featured in Wallpaper’s May 2019 issue and we caught up to hear about her working practice.
Scifi Landscape
Wallpaper*: Describe your style of work and process.
Lydia Whitmore: After apprenticing with an amazing still life photographer who taught me invaluable knowledge of the technical aspects of lighting, my previously more artistic approach fused with a more methodical and measured practise. With still life every object you shoot has its own character, surfaces, materials and unique properties. I strive to find and accentuate the beauty of objects, which is what keeps it endlessly engaging.
W*: Who or what made you want to be a photographer?
LW: Because I grew up in a quite isolated area of the Sussex woodlands I didn’t have access to TV or media, so it was cinema that initially inspired me and always seemed incredibly magical. Working towards the creation of a filmic fantasy world is what continues to motivate me. Filmmakers and artists Kenneth Anger and Matthew Barney are lifelong heroes of mine.
Moonman Magazine,Set design: Gemma Therese Pearce
After having spent some years studying painting at Central St Martins and Chelsea School of Art, giving me a strong basis to work from, I ultimately found photography more immediately gratifying; it’s relatable for an audience and the most honest and clear expression of my ideas.
W* What’s currently on your radar?
LW: Recently I’ve been excited about artists exploring the point at which image making and technology meet, such as Frederik Heyman who’s been doing some fascinating work with photogrammetry staging digital worlds. I tend to try to look for inspiration outside of social media and my still life photography peers.
What is always most inspiring for me however is collaboration; I’m in the early stages of a film project with artist Nicky Deeley. Also I’m building a creative agency with two colleagues (newpartner.services), which smoothly allows us to pool our skills and increase the scope of what we can physically achieve with a single idea. It’s an incredible feeling having the resources to create pretty much anything I can imagine.
Ceramic Shadows, Set design: Anna Sheridan
INFORMATION
lydiawhitmore.com
-
Our Tech Editor's selection of new and upgraded audio players covers the full spectrum of formatsWhether it’s vinyl, cassette, CD or mp3, or even sound sources you’ve captured yourself, you’ll find a suitable device in this round-up of pocketable and portable audio players
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
A new exhibition retraces 50 years of Pierre Paulin’s history around the table‘Les Tables de Pierre Paulin’ shows a lesser-known side of the designer’s creative world, accompanied by a new book tracing his wife’s hospitality around his iconic table designs. ‘A creator is never alone in his creation…’
-
Felicia Honkasalo on creative obsessions, gothic horror, and the sci-fi world of AI photographyExplore the vision of Helsinki-based artist Felicia Honkasalo in ‘Through the lens’, our monthly series spotlighting photographers who are Wallpaper* contributors
-
Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in fluxWe interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show, ‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations (until 8 January 2023). Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, he dissects the human obsession with structural restoration
-
Year in review: top 10 art interviews of 2022, chosen by Wallpaper* arts editor Harriet Lloyd-SmithTop 10 art interviews of 2022, as selected by Wallpaper* arts editor Harriet Lloyd-Smith, summing up another dramatic year in the art world
-
Yayoi Kusama on love, hope and the power of artThere’s still time to see Yayoi Kusama’s major retrospective at M+, Hong Kong (until 14 May). In our interview, the legendary Japanese artist vows to continue to ‘create art to leave the message of “love forever”’
-
Antony Gormley interview: ‘We’re at more than a tipping point. We’re in a moment of utter crisis’We visit the London studio of British sculptor Antony Gormley ahead of his major new show ‘Body Field’ at Xavier Hufkens Brussels
-
Photographer Maisie Cousins on nostalgia, impulsive making and ‘collecting useless things’Explore the vision of British artist Maisie Cousins in ‘Through the lens’, our monthly series spotlighting photographers who are Wallpaper* contributors
-
Rashid Johnson in Menorca: a journey through migration, longing and togethernessWe visited Rashid Johnson’s Brooklyn studio ahead of the artist’s show at Hauser & Wirth Menorca, which contemplates drift – physical and emotional
-
Step inside the kaleidoscopic universe of Pipilotti RistSwiss artist Pipilotti Rist, who headlines Wallpaper’s November 2022 issue, has transformed the way we see, with a poetic yet playful practice spanning three decades. Here, and in a special portfolio, she reveals how she has liberated video art from its conventions, imbued the digital realm with emotion, animated public spaces, and harnessed the healing powers of colour
