Born in England in 1970, Tim Walker's interest in photographs began at the Condé Nast library in London where he worked on the Cecil Beaton archive before taking up a place at Exeter College of Art to study photography. After graduating, he became assistant to Richard Avedon in New York before returning to England where he initially concentrated on portrait and documentary work for UK newspapers.
At the age of 25 he shot his first fashion story for Vogue, and has photographed for the British, Italian and American editions ever since. He has also contributed to Harpers Bazaar, W, i-D and Vanity Fair magazines, and advertising campaigns for brands such as Yohji Yamamoto, Guerlain and Dior Parfums. His first major show was held at the Design Museum in London in 2008, coinciding with the publication of his first monograph Pictures. In November 2008 Walker received the 'Isabella Blow award for Fashion Creator' from The British Fashion Council and, in May 2009, he received an Infinity Award from The International Center of Photography, New York, in recognition for his work as a fashion photographer. In 2012 Tim opened a major mid-career retrospective at Somerset House in London. This incredible exhibition also marked the launch of his second book Story Teller, published by Thames and Hudson.
Walker's work is held in the permanent collections of both the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Walker's photographs are nostalgic for an era of innocence and exuberance; youthful imagination and a uniquely British aesthetic. At once modern yet familiar, his world is reminiscent of a childhood spent dressing up in ancient couture, dragging family heirlooms down to the bottom of the garden to furnish tree-lined ballrooms. These memories are retold with a sublimely reminiscent matured eye for drama and intrigue. Tim painstakingly stages each picture in camera, which reinforces the home-spun magic and texture shown in each image.
Fashion photographer Tim Walker doesn’t seem to belong to the world of you or me. He’s a Peter Pan, a daydreamer, a fantasist. His pictures are mirages, telling stories conjured directly from an imagination that most of us left behind in childhood. Looking at Tim’s photographs is like following the white rabbit into a world where elephants are painted blue, horses are dusted lilac, paintings come to life and pretty girls with Thirties faces are transformed into marionettes or abandoned princesses.
Tim creates photographs that evoke wonder – a skill as rare and fragile as one of his butterflies. In presenting his imagination to us, his photographs remind us of our own capacity to dream. And, even though his images are pure whimsy, they feel true because they have been meticulously executed.
To create a photograph that invites wonder, something wondrous often has to happen. Magic is a slippery thing to define, dispersing into dust motes in the afternoon sun if examined too closely. But it’s this quality that elevates Tim’s pictures from being merely pretty to becoming works of art.
