Born in New Zealand, photographer Sam Nixon has lived and worked in New York for the last ten years. “My father is a portrait and fashion photographer. I was born into a world of studios, darkroom chemicals and contact sheets”, the artist tells us. Although he dabbled in the medium when he became a photographer’s assistant, in his home country, Sam Nixon quickly started travelling, in order “to discover odd and beautiful gems to shoot”. In the fashion world, working with a team inspires him. “I’m drawn to the artistic collaboration of unique people, usually a young and creative team who are all there for the sole reason of crafting exciting imagery”, he adds.
Often organised in diptychs, Sam Nixon’s pictures can be read as fictions. “I string an idea through a story by showing multiple images together and develop a flow without the pause of a single image”, he tells us. To create his unique narratives, the photographer travels in new places, and meet foreign models, to get out of his comfort zone. “They are often striking, in contrast to my upbringing and everyday world”, he adds. Mixing classical beauty with eccentricity, Sam Nixon’s portraits deconstruct the aesthetics of fashion photography.
© Sam Nixon
