Exchange: Harry Watts
For this edition of our interview series Exchange we are happy to feature a close friend of the extended Experientell family: Harry Watts is an English photographer who possesses the rare ability to transform seemingly mundane objects and spaces into stunning photographs. Harry has recently relaunched his website (big up Birch!) with some wonderful new work including the beautiful series STORE, which looks behind the scenes of fashion store facade. Enjoy.
Hello Harry, please can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your recent work Store?
I graduated from Brighton University with a BA in Editorial photography two years ago and started working for Photoworks and the Brighton Photo Biennial where I picked up valuable experience within the photography community. This experience then turned into contacts and my name gradually become more well known. I’m still very much at the start of my career and it was purely through hard work that I landed my current posts with Simon Roberts and Martin Parr.
For two years I have been working on creating ILLUSIONS. ILLUSIONS is a series of works exploring how objects construct and alter the spaces they inhabit. Each series within ILLUSIONS isolates the tools used to create artificial spaces: photography studio sets; fashion store displays; cinemas. The works document the seemingly banal objects behind the creation of glamorous, alternate worlds; spaces presenting attainable fantasy and perpetuating consumerist ideals. Rarely noted as individual entities, these things are instead absorbed into the constructed reality of the space they help shape. Through isolation of the objects from these contexts, the artifice of the ‘stage’ is revealed. Outside of their role in the conception of colourful worlds the tools themselves are revealed for detailed scrutiny. These mediums of artifice become sculptural forms in their own right.
STORE is the second part of the ILLUSIONS series, where STUDIO explored the contrivance of the fashion shoot in photographic studios, STORE highlights the construction of consumer ideals in fashion retail spaces. The series depicts the objects during the construction of a fashion store facade. The creation of this other world is frozen in time; unveiling its instruments of artifice and altering the viewer’s perception of the space. Along with my new work STORE, previous work STUDIO can be seen on my website. I will be continuing to work on the final two pieces of this project later this year.
What fascinates you about the subject matter?
Fascinates is such a strange word to me, as it’s not the verb I would necessarily use to describe why I take the types of photographs that I do. For me it’s down to what I’m drawn to, it’s driven by an aesthetical signifier that is very hard to explain. Basically I see. I like. I photograph.
I like how you imbue seemingly bland objects with a sculptural quality and how domestic spaces are suffused with sense of otherworldliness. Where was this shot and how do you choose your subjects?
I was in Brussels in the middle of last year shooting a commission for fashion brand Salvatore Ferragamo. They have a few stores around the area but one store in Brussels in particular needed a refit and was still empty. It was mentioned in passing conversation if I wanted to go see it. As luck would have it I had been looking for a fashion store for this series and this one just fell right in to my lap. I went back to the store several times over the past year to create what you see now. The stores space isn’t very large but it covers 4 floors. This knowledge does really improve the series as the idea of where it was shot and when doesn’t come into play at all. It’s about the detail within spaces like this rather than just about this individual space.
Within ILLUSIONS I am focused on being able to take the articles of industrial use and then reveal its composition and form as one of sculpture. It’s very easy for me to say that my subject selection is part of a complex thought process, and I don’t wish to cheapen my working practice at all, but once working in a space time and time again and knowing the aesthetical nature of sculptural forms its becomes an automatic process of finding and choosing the subject matter. My work tells no narrative so its not essential for me to find key objects yet I do spend hours and days looking and waiting too. The objects in each image have not been moved or altered by myself, so I would see something like the blue paint box for example, and would wait for it to be moved until it created the right look for the photograph, doing this meant I would have to wait and watch until it was moved, this obviously lead to the workers there being very confused about what I was doing.
Your work reminds a bit of the Anomalies series by Swedish photographer Mårten Lange. Which photographer has been influential to you as an inspiration over the years or of late?
An interesting pick for comparison here Lars. I have Marten’s books on my shelf above my bed so you can definitely put him in the list of inspirations along with Peter Fraser and Richard Wentworth. The latter two have played a telling role in the production of my ILLUSIONS series. If you happen to know the work of both of these artists you would be able to spot the reasons why. That said, there hasn’t been any work of late that has inspired me and my practice.
You work as an assistant for Martin Parr and have worked for Simon Roberts in the past. What has the experience been like and how have they influenced your way of working?
I still do work for Simon and have done for the past 10 months now and working for Martin in his studio is a very recent occupation, which was born from working for the Brighton Photo Biennial when he curated it last year. Both Simon and Martin have shown me the level of commitment that is needed to get far in this industry.
I think that without spending this length of time working with Simon I wouldn’t have been able to see how an artist can operate and make photography for a living. It takes a lot of time, passion and dedication. All points I obviously already knew but you can only really put it into context when you work along side someone for a good period of time. And as for working with Martin, it’s an incredible influence to work for someone who has created images that are so iconic in the photography industry. The one day I spent with him in Birmingham assisting him on street party shoots for the Royal Wedding for the Guardian, it was absolutely mind blowing watching the way he worked and the way he interacted and captured the moments. Recently I have also been scanning some of his 35mm archive at the studio and I have found myself sitting back and looking at the screen at an image that I once wrote about for a School project. Now I am sat there scanning in that image.
What’s next for you?
I plan on continuing with and finishing the last two parts of ILLUSIONS. I am also working on a collaboration project on another publication. I won’t tell you everything about what I’m doing next. Instead I invite you to sign up to my newsletter to keep up to date with my latest works.
Thank You for the interview.
You can find more of Harry work on his website and buy his books at the excellent Blackbox Press.
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