Spotlight

Spotlight Artist Lily Bertrand-Webb

Championed by Sophie Ashby
The Wick Culture - Lily Bertrand-Webb for Refinery29
Above  Lily Bertrand-Webb for Refinery29
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The Wick Culture - Photo by Evie Milsom
Above  Photo by Evie Milsom
Interview
Lily Bertrand-Webb
Photography
Evie Milsom
09 July 2024
Interview
Lily Bertrand-Webb
Photography
Evie Milsom
09 July 2024
Paul McCartney, Thandie Newton and Imelda Staunton have all stood in front of her camera (usually a Mamiya 645 or a Pentax) but Lily Bertrand-Webb portrays everyone with an easy, approachable feeling of familiarity. Her portrait photographs of Britain’s most iconic celebrities have an irresistible charm, taking cues from the likes of Nan Goldin, Wolfgang Tillmans and Juergen Teller, all known for their punk attitude and diaristic approach to taking portraits.
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.

About the champion

The Wick Culture - Spotlight Artist Lily Bertrand-Webb

Sophie Ashby grew up between Stellenbosch (Cape Town) and the UK. She gained a BA in History of Art at Leeds University, going on to study Interior Design at Parsons, The New School for Design in New York. Sophie founded her interior design and creative direction practice, Studio Ashby Ltd, in 2014 at the age of 25, and is also the co-founder of United Design, a new charitable initiative which launched in July 2020, with a mission to address the lack of diversity in interior design. In 2021, Sophie also launched her interiors arm, Sister by Studio Ashby, which opened its first bricks and mortar home at the Blewcoat School in St James’s Park in 2022. Sophie is also a Young Patron of the Royal Academy of Arts, a Frieze 91 Committee Member, guest speaker at Central St Martins and part of the 1st Dibs 50. Studio Ashby is also a House & Garden Top 100 design studio. Sophie lives with her husband Charlie Casely-Hayford, daughter Gaia and son Skyler in north London.

“There is an amazing quality to every image she creates that I can’t quite capture in words but each pictures feels honest, authentic and dynamic.”

Place of Birth

West London

Education

St Marylebone School, Camden School for Girls, Bournemouth Arts Institute

Awards, Accolades

1st place 200m sprint on Sports Day!

Spiritual guides, Mentors

Lee Miller, Nan Goldin, Barbara Hepworth, Olivia Laing

Advice

Always carry a camera with you!


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