Born in 1965 in northwest London, Gavin Watson started taking pictures at an early age. By the time he was 14 he was a skinhead, immersed in the world of Madness and Two Tone, and set about documenting the antics of his friends and especially this ‘muse’, his brother Neville. The pictures are fresh and full of energy and reek of the essence of their time. In spite of his youth, Gavin’s natural eye for a moment and the stark honesty of the images have made this collection of work and its later developments into one of the UK’s finest documentary portfolios.
Fast forward to the present and Gavin has established himself as a hugely successful and renowned working photographer. Skins- the best selling book based on his early pictures- was hailed as ‘the most important photographic record of this unique subculture’ and it was followed by two others developing the theme, Skins and Punks and Raving 89. The raw energy of his style is undimmed and it still resonates through his work. He is regularly cited as an important influence, by luminaries such as Terry Richardson, quote ‘I think he’s (Gavin) a genius’, and the film director Shane Meadows, who credited much of the look of ‘This is England’ to Gavin’s work.
Gavin’s 2011 exhibition, Neville, sponsored by Diesel, featured a collection of images, many unseen before, that chart his muse/ brother’s progress from teens to adulthood through various looks and revolutions of style. The same year he was named as Artrocker Magazine’s ‘Photographer of the Year’ , and shot campaigns for Farah Vintage and Dr Martens.
In 2012 he continued to shoot all seasonal campaigns for Dr Martens, worked on a major project with the singer Plan B and had his archive work featured in Upon Paper- the ultra prestigious Berlin based arts magazine.
Gavin’s work was recently exhibited at the inaugural Photo Art Fair in London.
http://www.photoartfair.co.uk
