Tim Walker Storyteller at Somerset House

Tim Walker is probably one of the most famous fashion photographers of all time. The Vogue photographer has worked with everyone from super models, to the biggest celebrities as well as all the major fashion labels. So how does one get so incredibly famous in such a saturated field, because Tim Walker does not just photograph clothes, Tim Walker creates fantasy, magic, emotion and art.

Walker’s photographs are plucked from an extremely creative and imaginative place in his mind, they are instantaneously recognisable and steeped in originality. Storyteller is Walker’s new exhibition currently showing in the East Wing of Somerset House. Showing until the 27th of January 2013, the show is perfectly housed in the grandeur of its venue. The pieces are curated beautifully within the historic features and are complimented by behind the scenes glimpses of props and installations which feature in the framed works.

The exhibition is a story in itself with quotes from Walker explaining his romantic notions of imagination and photography dancing around the walls leading you through the different spaces each housing a specific set of imagery. The romantic swan, the portraits, the killer wasps and the huge doll are all sections of pieces which create their own stories alongside the greater story of Walker in general. His absolutely stunning photography enables people to be transported into pure unhindered imagination – Walker is the Willy Wonka of fashion photography.

We are used to admiring the beauty of the photographic works and gazing into the complex constructions which have obviously been present to create them. We are not used to being able to experience the constructs for ourselves. Confronted by large scale installation props dotted around the different areas of the exhibition some of the magic is lost. All of a sudden we can imagine how these works of photographic beauty are in existence and they begin to drift away from fantasy and into reality; a disappointing and unexpected reaction. Perhaps it is because the sculptures props are present in the same rooms as the photographic works which they are in. It is in-fact almost certainly this, if you look at the photographic pieces first you do not loose the magic and then can splendour in amazement at the sculptural props themselves. I would have personally preferred to have enjoyed the photographic works separately and then been confronted with the props all at once at the end in some new and exciting composition of their own, however I am an avid fan of the unreal and the magic of fantasy and by no means does it make for an uninteresting show as it stands.

Far from it, the show is a wonder, it is grand, it is fantasy and it is beautiful. I would not only recommend you go to see this show I would insist you do, Tim Walker is a true original genius and every one of his photographs is a spectacular feat of excellence.

Ruth Page

Tim Walker: Storyteller is at Somerset House until 20^th December 2012. For further information or to book visit the gallery’s website here.

Further information on Tim Walker can be found here.