Photography: These British Photographers Present Award-Winning Imaginative Work

Tim Flach, Jonathan Knowles, and Andy Glass submit some of the best photography out of the United Kingdom

For a long while after the inception of photography, many artists discredited it as a low-brow format that could seldom be included in the echelons of high art. To a great deal of people, it was nothing more than a technological play-thing that was more in line with scientific research than it was with artistic inclinations. It wasn’t until artists like Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, John Szarkowski, F. Holland Day, Edward Weston and others began advocating for photography as a fine art that it began to be accepted as one. By the mid-20th century, photography would be accepted by high art critics, collectors, and perhaps most importantly, into the gallery world. At this point, photography is as imbued into the art world as painting, illustration, or any other old-world format. And thankfully, it’s a continuously evolving technique.

Andy Glass’ gold award-winning work, Paint Your Own Car (ABOVE), is an invocation of self-expression, all through the consumerist habit of purchasing a car. It suggests that by modifying the color scheme of a car, one is also diffusing one’s personality onto it. By doing so, the individual can claim their possession as their own more than most other vehicles which provide a standard array of colors to choose from.

Jonathan Knowles’ Parker Duofold/The Craft of Traveling (ABOVE, LEFT presents an otherworldly photograph of an extravagant pen that is balanced on a flattened golden globe. It is both arresting and wholly luxurious, denoting a time in which navigating the world took more than hopping on a plane. It is as if the photograph is suggesting that the pen is as worldly as travel itself—it all depends on who you ask.

Tim Flach’s silver award-winning Grace Grey Owl (ABOVE, RIGHT) is a wondrous work that showcases the portraiture of a photogenic owl, one that is as terrifying as it is peaceful. The soft blue-grey backdrop compliments the ruffles of grey, blue, white and yellow on the owl. The simplicity and naturalistic look elevates the work to mesmerizing quality.

Be sure to submit your work to Graphis’ Annual Photography Competition before time runs out! The deadline is September 25. Winners will have the opportunity to see their work published on our website, blog, newsletter, and social media platforms.