Brynley Odu Davies

Overview
Photography by Milly Cope.

“After I took images of Conor, I thought this might be an interesting direction, so I reached out to Marcus Nelson. Suddenly, I realised how amazing this was, all I had to do was go to an artist’s studio and there was all this brilliant artwork and an amazing space just waiting for me.” – Brynley Odu Davies

Brynley started his photography career in the music industry, picturing live events, bands and album covers and working with clients including The Ministry of Sound and Peckham events venue, Bussey Building. He rapidly gained recognition for photographing South London’s most exciting emerging musicians. In 2020, he experienced a sudden and unplanned career change when the pandemic led to the cessation of live music events. Around the same time, while taking a lockdown walk in Peckham, he met South London based artist Conor Murgatroyd. Intrigued by Murgatroyd’s distinct personal style, Brynley asked to shoot him in his studio. The resultant images sparked the beginning of a monumental project that would take up most of Byrnley’s time for the subsequent three years.
 
From 2020 onwards, Brynley has travelled solo around the UK to photograph contemporary artists in their studios. He has been everywhere; from the shores of southern England up to the Scottish coast, across to Wales and on a ferry to Northern Ireland. His images exist as an unparalleled archive, presenting a panoptic picture of the creatives who are shaping the UK’s emerging art world.
 
His project is deliberately widespread and diverse, rather than focusing on London with its abundance of art schools and young artists, Brynley took it upon himself to look beyond the beaten track. He has also endeavoured to reflect the multicultural and ethnically diverse nature of the UK’s emerging art scene, championing all artists equally and addressing inequality in the established artworld as it stands.
 
One unintended, but very welcome, consequence of the project is the many long-lasting relationships Brynley has built along the way. Many of the artists he has photographed have become close friends, and Brynley consistently follows and supports the careers of all the artists he works with. Many of the artists he is closest too, such as Marcus Nelson, have been pictured repeatedly with every series of work they have created since 2020.
 
Having not come from a Fine Art background, Brynley’s love of art has developed in tandem with the photography project. During lockdown, he studied art from the comfort of his home, watching numerous documentaries and reading countless books. He has now, somewhat unintentionally, become an avid collector as he often received gifts in the form of original artworks as a token of gratitude for photographing artists. He avidly studies photography books and draws great influence from canonical portrait photographers of the past including David Bailey.
 
In many ways, like Bailey and others, Brynley’s project is a document of a particularly fertile creative moment. In light of the lockdowns, many artists where no longer needing to split their time between part time jobs and hours in the studio. A difficult time also become an opportunity for consistent creative focus. Brynley’s images attest to this moment of widespread creative fervour and, as time moves on and many of these artists become household names, his project will become a remarkable archive of the UK’s vibrant emerging art scene in 2020s.
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Biography
Photography by Milly Cope.
Photography by Milly Cope.
Brynley Odu Davies (b.1995) is a British South London based photographer. He began his career in photography at the age of 15, first studying at Bath College before completing an undergraduate degree in Digital Photography at Ravensbourne University, London. He has lived in Peckham for 9 years and has worked as a full-time photographer since graduating in 2018. His first professional job was shooting for local newspaper, The Peckham Peculiar. He then worked with music industry clients including The Ministry of Sound and Peckham events venue, Bussey Building.
 
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Brynley’s work in the music industry dried up as many live music events were cancelled. At this time, he became friends with a group of artists in his local area and began taking studio portraits for them. From this moment on, his career as an art photographer was born. Since then, he has photographed over 200 artists in their studios across the UK. He has also worked with galleries and institutions including Beers London, Blue Shop Cottage, Cob Gallery, Fores Project, Guts Gallery, Saatchi Gallery and South London Gallery. His work has been featured in numerous print and online publications including Art Plugged, Artnet, BBC Wales, Bricks Magazine, FAD Magazine, Metal Magazine, Office Magazine and Piece with Artist.
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