About — PAUL WESTLAKE

BACK STORY

My uncle wasn’t really my uncle; he was a Polish soldier that my parents took in during World War 2 and who remained part of our family even when we migrated to Australia from England. He gifted me a beautiful Zeiss Ikon camera in 1966, enclosed in a stiff, almost brand-new leather case. This marked the beginning of a journey that would evolve into my life’s obsession—photography. It took a few decades before I could call myself a professional; in fact, the year was 1985. In the nineties, I moved to New York with my wife Nathalie, where we continue to reside and create. Over the years, I've had the privilege of contributing to some nice publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, and Grazia. In recent years I have been focusing on personal projects and contributing to ‘Pan & The Dream’ an independent award winning art and style publication. As a fashion photographer, imagination is integral to my craft. I try to unveil hidden narratives that are compelling, beautiful, and mysterious. This process involves stepping outside of myself and finding a spark of something ‘other’. All my most compelling photographs emerge this way. To me, a good photograph is like a postcard from a dream.

“Paul Westlake’s clarity of vision guides his every image. There is a reverence for the organic in his work that permeates each composition - skin and fabric are shown as both visual and tactile, and the body is explored as shape and form. His work draws on a multitude of influences - from film and fashion histories - to create subtle, cinematic moments that suggest hidden narratives. Photography’s emotional pull plays an equally significant part in Westlake’s appeal to the senses. He approaches his subjects with delicacy, allowing their feelings, as well as his own to guide the image’s formation. The connection between photographer and sitter is evident in his photography’s intimacy, its careful composition and the way he illuminates every scene, frequently cropping close to draw the viewer into the dreamscape he has created. “

- Dr Rebecca Arnold, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London

Exhibitions:

2023: LensCulture B+W Photography award finalist: - “Jennae Q”

2023 - Contemporary Voices in Photography. Group Exhibition. Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI. (Juror: Paula Tognarelli, Curator and former Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA )

2023 - Modern Analog. Group Exhibition. Dallas Center for Photography, Dallas TX. (Juror: Lisa Elmaleh, artist, educator, and documentarian, Hampshire County, West Virginia)

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