James Pfaff

b. 1965, Glasgow, Scotland.

Images, Photography and its territories. Forming a repository that continues to evolve throughout the years, my work and research frequently position themselves in the (ever-)shifting space between the photographic root and the limits of what Photography, and by extension, Images in general, can mean and be. Expressing myself using an interdisciplinary approach, in which I embrace process and materiality, the rhythm and connected diversity of the works reflect my life and art.

I have been working since the 1980s, relocating from Glasgow to Hamburg, Germany in 1994 where I was impacted by Hamburg’s permissive and neon-lit St. Pauli district and its infamous Reeperbahn. It was during this period - in 1998 - that I would meet Alex and make the images that would come together to form my first artist book Alex & Me/Danilo Montanari Editore (2016). 1998 would also see my first visit to Japan - a country that continues to inspire me. Moving to London in 2001 I continued to work and exhibit my projects while still working commercially. During this period, I was introduced to the artist Banksy and documented the artist at work in his then London studio and created two portrait works for his book Wall and Piece/Random House (2005). In 2007 the National Portrait Gallery in London acquired one of the portrait works, Banksy, Monkey Mask Session, (Tag), London, 2003. I am the author of many other portraits including Eric Clapton, George Best, Malcolm McLaren, Daphne Guinness and Sean Ono Lennon. My editorial clients include, amongst others, Vanity Fair, GQ, ELLE, The Wire, Monocle and The Face. Vogue, Rolling Stone and Playboy magazines have featured my work. Advertising, fashion and design clients include Nike (Wieden+Kennedy), First Direct (JWT), Clements Riberio, Courrèges, The Groucho Club and The Michelberger Hotel.

In 2015 I returned to Scotland, to Glasgow's west end, where I now live and work.

I teach photography part-time at the City of Glasgow College and am a mentor to both the New Photographers Guild (in association with Street Level Photoworks), Glasgow and The Cultural Enterprise Office, Glasgow.

In 2017 I was a guest judge for the Fòcas Photography Prize.

In 2018 I had my first major solo show (Alex & Me) at Street Level Photoworks during Glasgow International (GI). The exhibition was nominated for The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2019. A work from the show, my wall composition with neon Alex & Me - Ever Been Changed By Someone? was awarded The Emma Herman-Smith Environmental Art Award for an artwork of merit in environmental art. During this time, I also published my first artist edition Alex & Me - Coda/Danilo Montanari Editore.

2021 would see my first public art work Returning And Into Your Arms unveiled at Glasgow Cathedral for COP26 and beyond.

2024. Visiting Lecturer at The Glasgow School of Art (MLitt in Fine Art Practice).

Additional documentation credits: Sebastian Böttcher (Exhibitions) and Apolonia Wieland (Portrait).

Dimensions are given in the order height x length x width.

WIP - A work in progress.

Education.

Glasgow School of Art, Master of Letters in Fine Art Practice. (Distinction).

Glasgow School of Art, Life Drawing, Short course.

Glasgow College of Building and Printing (City of Glasgow College), Photography, Diploma.

One person exhibitions/Installations.

COP26. Returning And Into Your Arms. Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland, 31st of October 2021—28th of November 2022.

GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL (GI) 2018: Alex & Me, Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, Scotland, 2018.

Group exhibitions/Events.

Street Level Photoworks, Open Exhibition, Glasgow, 28th of May—7th of August 2022. Vermilion Byobu and Two Times, Pilgrimage. (Vermilion).

Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland. 2022. Returning And Into Your Arms. Image + Stage.

Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland. 2022. Returning And Into Your Arms. Image/Stage/Sound/Silence.

Society of Scottish Artists + Visual Arts Scotland, Open Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 2019—2020. Monochromes - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. The Japanese Seasons (The persuasiveness of colour and the ubiquitousness of photography).

Street Level Photoworks, Open Exhibition, Glasgow, 2019. Monochromes - The Japanese Autumn (The persuasiveness of colour and the ubiquitousness of photography).

Society of Scottish Artists, Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 2018—2019. Alex & Me - Ever Been Changed By Someone? and One Day?.

NIDA, International Photography Symposium, Nida, Lithuania, 2018. Alex & Me - One Day?.

The Nuit de l’Instant 2018, Les Ateliers de l’Image/Centre Photographique Marseille, Printemps de l’Art Contemporain, Marseille, France, 2018. Alex & Me - One Day?.

The Photobook Exhibition, Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece, 2017. Alex & Me book.

The 2017 Book Awards, Les Rencontres de la photographie, Atelier De La Mécanique, Arles, France, 2017. Alex & Me book.

FORMATO LIBeRo, The artist book from Joseph Beuys to Maurizio Cattelan, Museo d'Arte Adria e Delta (MAAD), Adria, Italy 2016. Alex & Me book.

Real and Imagined Lives, M Shed, Bristol, England, 2012—2013. Banksy portrait.

Publications.

Returning And Into Your Arms - Minigraph, 2021. Francesca Seravalle and John Farrell. Download PDF.

Alex & Me - Minigraph/Street Level Photoworks, 2018. Francesca Seravalle and Malcolm Dickson. Download PDF.

Alex & Me - Coda/Danilo Montanari Editore, 2018.

Alex & Me**/Danilo Montanari Editore, 2016.

**Best Photobooks, Bitume Photofest selection, 2016.

**Best Photobook selection, Erik Kessels, Cosmos, Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, 2016.

**Best Photobook selection, Stefano Stoll, (Images Vevey), 2016.

Awards.

Street Level Photoworks, Open Exhibition, Glasgow - selected artist, 28th of May—7th of August 2022. Vermilion Byobu and Two Times, Pilgrimage. (Vermilion).

Society of Scottish Artists + Visual Arts Scotland, Open Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, selected artist, 2019, Monochromes - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. The Japanese Seasons (The persuasiveness of colour and the ubiquitousness of photography).

Street Level Photoworks, Open Exhibition, Glasgow - selected artist, 2019, Monochromes - The Japanese Autumn (The persuasiveness of colour and the ubiquitousness of photography).

Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize - nominated artist, 2019, Alex & Me.

The Emma Herman-Smith Environmental Art Award for an artwork of merit in environmental art, 2018, Alex & Me - Ever Been Changed By Someone?.

Society of Scottish Artists, 121st Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh - selected artist, 2018, Alex & Me - Ever Been Changed By Someone? and Alex & Me - One Day?

Libraries/Collections.

Glasgow Print Studio, Glasgow, Scotland.

Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland.

The Getty Centre, The Getty Library Special Collection, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Harvard University, Fine Arts Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

École Supérieure de la Photographie d’Arles, Arles, France.

Hellenic Centre for Photography, Athens, Greece.

Fotomuseum Antwerpen (FOMU), Antwerp, Belgium.

Aperture Foundation, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Gabriela Cendoya-Bergareche collection, Museum San Telmo, San Sebastián, Basque region, Spain.

International Center for Photography, New York, U.S.A.

National Portrait Gallery, London, England.

Reviews/Essays/Features/Interviews/Podcasts.

Returning And Into Your Arms. Glasgow School of Art. Flow COP26 Online Magazine.

Returning And Into Your Arms. Glasgow Herald (Deborah Anderson).

Alex & Me. Centrale Fotografia. Danilo Montanari in conversation. In Italian, (1:42:49).

Alex & Me. Yet Magazine, Switzerland. Issue 12, #What_We_Have_Learnt_About_Publishing.

Alex & Me. Belgium Platform for Photobooks. The (Photo)book: On Potentiality (Natasha Christia).

Alex & Me. Full Frame (86). Podcast in Spanish.

Alex & Me. Cartier-Bresson no es un reloj.

Alex & Me - Minigraph/Street Level Photoworks, 2018. Francesca Seravalle and Malcolm Dickson. Download PDF.

Alex & Me. Photomonitor (Sylvia Grace Borda).

Alex & Me. Der Greif (Alan Eglinton).

Alex & Me. The Scotsman **** review (Susan Mansfield).

Alex & Me. Studio International (David Gibson).

Alex & Me. The List **** review (Neil Cooper).

Alex & Me. Glasgow International (Erifili Gounari).

Alex & Me. British Vogue (Louise Long).

Alex & Me. Photomonitor (Dr. Katherine Parhar).

You Wouldn't Like It Here. Frame Zero (Ria Torrente).

Alex & Me. La Repubblica.

Alex & Me. PHASES MAGAZINE.

Alex & Me. NOTES Letters to photography (Dr. Elizabeth Reeder).

Alex & Me. 1000 Words Photography Magazine (Natasha Christia).

Alex & Me. Colin Pantall.

Alex & Me. Gabriela Cendoya-Bergareche.

Alex & Me. Visual Arts South West (Rowan Lear).

Selected Talks.

Alex & Me. Edinburgh Photobook Club, Edinburgh Central Library, Edinburgh, 2018.

Alex & Me. Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, Walk and talk, 2018.

Alex & Me. Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, with curator Francesca Seravalle and Tim Clark (1000 Words Photography Magazine), 2018.

Alex & Me: A primer. Recyclart Art Center, Brussels, (Extra Fort), 2017.

Alex & Me: A primer. Center for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, (Talk See Photography), with curator Francesca Seravalle and Dr. Elizabeth Reeder, 2016.

Alex & Me: A primer. Cosmos, Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, with curator Francesca Seravalle, 2016.

Book launches/Book signings/Live painting.

Alex & Me. L'Ascenseur Végétal Bookshop at Galerie Bettina, Paris, with curator Francesca Seravalle, 2016.

Alex & Me. Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, with curator Francesca Seravalle and Dr. Elizabeth Reeder, 2016.

Alex & Me. Unseen Book Market, Danilo Montanari Editore, Unseen Photo Fair & Festival, Amsterdam, 2016.

Alex & Me. Cosmos, Tipi Bookshop, Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, with curator Francesca Seravalle, 2016.