Derrick Santini

London-based photographer and artist Derrick Santini grew up in North Yorkshire where he studied photography and initially began his career as a reportage photographer. Voyeuristic in nature, and taking ultimate pleasure from ‘stolen’ moments, his interest lay in capturing subjects and situations onto which he could project his own aesthetic, ideas and fantasies.

Derrick Santini’s talent saw him propelled into the fields of portraiture, music photography, fashion and advertising, where he developed a more confrontational approach to image making – one based on interaction and personality. He soon became renowned for his intimate and insightful portraiture style, particularly within the music industry where there rapidly became a huge demand for his iconic images, resulting in an acquisition by the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Having enjoyed a successful career as a commercial photographer Santini wanted to focus more on his art practice and began to explore the possibilities of lenticular photographs and light-boxes. The lenticular process consists of digitally layering a series of still images into a single merged file which is printed onto a ribbed Perspex sheet that acts as a lens giving the viewer the perception of motion.

Santini’s uses this technique to create seductive and otherworldly imagery of female figures submerged underwater or falling through space. The artist describes this series as a visual and psychological journey into the mind of the artist, he states that the works “came from the desire to pose the question what is in one’s mind and through the beauty of art to communicate the deeper issues implicit within”. Santini’s career spans three decades and he has shown in numerous exhibitions globally including London, New York and Istanbul.