Craig Waddell is a queer British photographer living and working in London, following graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 2017. Through using analogue photography and a formal photographic style, he seeks to allude to traditional techniques and aesthetics whilst investigating contemporary issues surrounding representation and the self. His work is particularly engaged with queer narratives, and looks to establish their visibility in social history.
“Through my photographic practice, I intend to reinvent the formal portrait, reclaiming it from outdated associations with social power and gender stereotyping. The formal portrait can be seen as a signifier of the institution and of social power, and I’ve always been fascinated by the formal portrait as status and its role in collective public memory.
I feel queer representation is often skewed in photography - either the results are incredibly performative and extravagant, or overly intimate. I want to make photographs that have a sense of dignity and directness, and serve as a vibrant update to the traditional portrait whilst celebrating the diversity and beauty of the queer community.”
His work has been shown in a number of exhibitions and art prizes. He most recently had a series of portraits taken into the permanent collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery as part of their show ‘Counted - Scotland’s Census 2022’.
Further shows include the Royal Photographic Society’s IPE 161 in 2019, New Scottish Artists at the Cello Factory in London, the Royal Scottish Academy’s New Contemporaries 2018, Aesthetica Magazine’s Future Now publication, the Magenta Foundation’s 100 international emerging photographers to watch compendium Flash Forward for his recent work Masc and the Portrait of Britain 2018.
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