I am an artist and photographer living in London. I moved to London in 1976 from Matlock in Derbyshire. Like many a young person before me I wanted to find my life in the big city and being gay this was doubly important. I’d known I was gay from a very early age and this aspect of my identity has guided my work as a photographer and artist. When I arrived in London I searched out anything that looked or sounded ‘queer’. The pink triangle symbol was like a beacon and anything that had it on the cover I’d devour. Famous gay people especially drew my interest, I wanted to find out about my cultural heritage, compare myself to my forbears and be like them
Destiny brought me to the studio of artist Brian Clarke and it was here I first thought about becoming a photographer after discovering the work of photographers such as, Diane Arbus, Robert Mappelthorpe, David Bailey and Cecil Beaton. I noticed they all photographed their generation often defining the era with their portraits. So when I started taking pictures it was natural that I started photographing my peers and anyone famous that captured my imagination…especially if they were gay or lesbian or trans or drag…It was my world and I was documenting the people in it but I wasn’t rigidly part of any scene, I was always there at the centre of the scene (whichever scene it was) but my identity was never locked down as being part of it, even though I was always there close to the heart of it.
I would call my portrait style ‘ Portrait Documentary’ as I photograph subjects in their home, or place of work or candidly out socialising, so they depict a certain up-close reality about the subject. And I hoped the pictures would have a cultural value and find their place amongst the pages of queer history.
Around 2019 I started photographing landscape. The work forms two series called Candy Land – a land of fantasy and desire and Beautiful Apocalypse – gays ending the world. They are loudly colourful, camp, ironic and humorous. Camp, humour and irony is a huge part of gay culture, it’s how we have traditionally dealt with our oppression and our bad lot. But now queering the landscape is actually a thing.. and I like the idea of queering the landscape this way
Thoughts on my past
Having been a punk (albeit a fluffy mohair, gay one) I rebelled at the idea of the perfect print, technical excellence, the correct f-stop and all that stuff which the photography establishment wanted. And like a punk band, I used a version of the three basic chords (for me, two basic settings) and clicked away. I took pictures only when I encountered them and took my camera everywhere.
The National Portrait Gallery first acquired one of my pictures, a portrait of Joe Tilson, in the mid 80’s and paid just £10 for it. They have since purchased 20 further works from the 1980’s and in 2017 gave me a solo show titled ‘ Before We Were Men’, to recognise the purchase of the work and celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.
In the 90’s I wanted to develop myself as an artist beyond photography and looking within myself for what I could say, I designed a new flag celebrating my sense of pride in being British and gay. I called the flag the Pink Jack. This was the first time a country’s National flag had been appropriated in such a way. Until this point only the Rainbow flag existed as a representation of gay pride. It was a world first. Ironically it wasn’t until 2006 (about six years after I created it) that it became relevant and took off. Britain was starting to acknowledge the contribution of gay people, equality was on the agenda, human rights were improving and civil partnerships had become legal. The Pink Jack echoed this and in 2013 I was voted 16th on the Independent’s list of the top 100 most influential gay people in Britain for creating the Pink Jack. This was a huge honour which made me cry when I told my partner.
A few years ago I questioned if discovering photography so arbitrarily in Brian’s studio meant I was a fraud. How did I know I was a genuine artist if it wasn’t something I’d felt destined to be from an early age. Then, wandering around an exhibition of photographer Guy Bourdin’s work that year (2015) it dawned on me, that as a schoolboy, I had French Vogue delivered to the newsagent every month so I could look at the fashion photographs of Bourdin. I was crazy into fashion and always thought my love of Guy Bourdin’s pictures was for the fashion but of course I now realise it wasn’t as there aren’t really any clothes in his photographs, they are more about concept and strong design, I was into the picture itself- I was into the photography! So maybe I really was destined to be a photographer. I still have those Vogues too.
My work is for sale, usually in Limited Editions of 5 0r 10 with two Artist Proof. Sizes vary for each print but are mostly A0, A1, A2, 12 x 16”, 20 x 16” and 20 x 24”. Larger sizes can be made available for certain images. Two of my portraits were recently shown at Tate Modern in the Leigh Bowery exhibition (2025) and I have work in the collections of The Smithsonian Washington, The Royal Academy London The National Portrait Gallery London, The National Portrait Gallery Australia, The Cavallino Gallery Venice, The Nicholas Treadwell Gallery Austria, The Currell Collection London and many private collections. My work is also collected extensively by Daisy Green Food Ltd, who own Larry’s Bar at the NPG where four of my works hang and at their other sites, Ziggy Green W1, Margot SW4 and Glamarama Green SW7.
If you are interested in investing in a piece and would like further information please do get in touch at david@davidgwinnutt.com
Prices range from £400 to £5000. Bespoke pieces priced on application
David x