Bertrand-Webb’s champion for The Wick is the interior designer, Sophie Ashby, who recently presented Bertrand-Webb’s work at her showroom at WOW!HOUSE. In August, Bertrand-Webb is Studio Ashby’s artist in residence, and will exhibit a mixture of early and new work, shot on film and hand printed in the darkroom, at their HQ in St James. Ashby says: “I have long admired Lily’s arresting portraiture and was lucky enough to have her take my photo late last year. Her work is warm, deep and vibrant and we were honoured to showcase her photography in a recent installation of ours. There is an amazing quality to every image she creates that I can’t quite capture in words but each picture feels honest, authentic and dynamic with a filmic permanence that is longing to be hung. All of our interiors are filled with artworks and we’re excited to continue to celebrate Lily’s beautiful work in future projects.”

Born and raised in a creative West London family with Dominican and British heritage, Bertrand-Webb lost her hearing at 18 months old – which was around the same time she was first introduced to a camera. She learned to lipread and now wears a cochlear implant, but photography has remained an important way of communicating with the world without sound: taking pictures helped her overcome the difficulties she faced losing her hearing and allow her represent the world through her experience, with a heightened sense of the visual, whether she’s recording people or places. “I am constantly searching for the imitation of sounds in my daily life, through both silence and the electronic sounds that my cochlear implant gives me,” Bertrand-Webb explains.

After graduating from Bournemouth Arts Institute in 2011, where she earned a BA in Photography, Bertrand-Webb worked as an intern for Sam Taylor-Johnson, the YBA artist and filmmaker. She went on to work at a gallery in Fitzrovia. British culture, nature and society has remained at the forefront of Bertrand-Webb’s practice since the beginning – she has become a kind of Martin Parr, a chronicler of British life for a new generation, with brilliant bold colour, capturing serendipitous moments with a joyful regard. Recogising her burgeoning importance, The National Portrait Gallery acquired Bertrand-Webb’s portrait of John Keane for their permanent collection – a moment the artist describes as her biggest achievement to date.