Christopher Fernandez' evoking photography

Christopher Fernandez is a London-based photographer who specialises in portrait photography with an atmospheric style, often described as cinematic documentary. 

During lockdown, Christopher spent a lot of his spare time documenting his neighbours (with their permission of course). He put a sign in his window saying “Professional photographer looking to document your isolation from over here. DM me if interested”, and quickly received quite a few responses from his neighbours who were keen to be involved. The outcome was intimate, cinematic and portray the vulnerability of the situation.

We have a few pieces from Christopher’s ‘Isolation 2020’ series exhibited at The Pilgrm this summer. Stop by and take a look yourself! All profits raised from this work went towards creating luxury hampers for NHS workers.

How would you describe your artistic style in 5 words? - Atmospheric, Abstract, Cinematic, Dramatic, Evoking. 

What was your route into art – is it something you have always loved from an early age, did someone guide you in that direction…? - I have loved art from a very early age, I always enjoyed drawing but I was never very good at it. I used to make films with my friends growing up too. I had one class a week in photography at high school that I remember really enjoying and then I eventually took a photography class at college after dabbling in other courses like animation and film. Photography seemed to stick. I enjoyed photography because it was a lot like making films, I would normally come up with an idea that would act as a scene in a small film but then have to come up with the rest of the movie around that. With photography it was great because I could just create that one scene and tell a story with that alone. I really love the ambiguity of that. 

Where do you draw your inspiration from? - Films, Paintings, Photographers.

What is your favourite piece of artwork by another artist and why? - Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth. I'm not entirely sure why I like this painting so much, I think because it has a real air of sadness to it. 

What is your favourite piece of artwork you have produced and why? - Hmm, I don't think I have a favourite, I don't want to be cliche and say the picture I haven't taken yet but it's true.

What would your advice be to young creatives? - Make what you enjoy.

How would you summarise The Pilgrm hotel in 5 words? - Elegant, Sophisticated, Chic, Vintage, Tasteful.

What does an average day look like for you? - At the moment it's a mixture of editing images, emails, food, a walk and podcast/audiobook. 

And finally, what’s the top thing on your bucket list? - Travel more!

You can view more of Christopher’s work here - https://christopherfernandez.com/projects/personal