066 - Sian Davey
© Sian Davey
Sian Davey is a photographer with a background in Fine Art and Social Policy who had a successful career as a psychotherapist for many years before deciding to jack it all in and pursue a new career in photography which so far, to all intents and purposes, appears to be going swimmingly.
Her work is an investigation of the psychological landscapes of herself, her family and her community, all of which are central to her practice. Her first series focussed on her young daughter Alice, who she started photographing at the age of one. The project was eventually published as a book by Trolley Books entitled Looking for Alice which was shortlisted for the Aperture Best Book Award at Paris Photo 2016.
Her most recent series Martha focussing on her teenage step-daughter and grew as a response to her question to Sian: 'why don't you photograph me anymore?' So Sian did - turning her lens on Martha and her friends to produce an intimate collaboration.
Sian has recently completed her MA and MFA in photography. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Arnold Newman Award for New Directions in Portraiture and the Prix Virginia Woman's Photography Award. Her work was included in the National Portrait Gallery's Taylor Wessing Portrait Award for the last three consecutive years. She is represented by the Michael Hoppen Gallery.
In episode 066, Sian discusses, among other things:
The confluence of circumstances that led to photography
Going nuts for 10 years
Being all or nothing
Dealing with hitting 50
“It’s such a privilege to be able to find this expression. Such a privilege. I can’t believe I was given that privilege. I still can’t. I have to pinch myself. That to find something I love so much. And it be a part of my life in the way it is - I have such gratitude for that”
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