Blue forest, 2018

Barry Cawston  

Barry Cawston, born in London in 1966, is a British photographer renowned for his striking images that fuse architecture, landscapes, and portraits. A graduate in sociology from the University of Leeds, he studied photography at Kitson College in Leeds between 1989 and 1991. His work is distinguished by an almost painterly approach, where light, color, and texture reveal a unique visual poetry.

Cawston has won numerous awards, including the President's Award at the Royal West of England Academy's (RWA) Open Photography Exhibition. He has also exhibited at prestigious institutions such as the Marble Palace of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the Völklinger Hütte in Germany, and the Oldenburg Museum. His major project, Threads, A Tale of Two Cities, compares the historic textile cities of Manchester and Kanpur, blending social documentary and architecture.

Based in Axbridge, Somerset, he runs the Drugstore Gallery with his partner Soraya Schofield. His photographic practice encompasses series such as Echoes from the Arboretum, Are We There Yet? (a trip to Banksy's Dismaland) and Russia: Far From Black and White, exploring the beauty of often-overlooked places with a cinematic quality.