Photo London 2025 in review

Photo London has returned for its landmark tenth edition which coincides with Somerset House’s 25th Anniversary. The landscape of photography from its purist form is continually shifting. Attending Photo London is the best place to see this in action where visitors can view the future of the medium. From works printed on textiles to pieces of photographic art created by collage and technical innovation, to the use of AI and many works appearing more painterly than photographic. It is a fascinating and stimulating day out for collectors and lovers of photography and I highly recommend setting aside the entire day to really appreciate the breadth of what is on display from the 131 exhibitors and 400 local and international artists represented.

There is a lot on view and can be hard to come to grips with the various areas. So perhaps this will help guide you. 

Photo London returns to Somerset House, 15-18 May 2025.

First let me champion “POSITIONS” curated by Maria Sukhar, a significant platform for unrepresented photographic artists offering an opportunity for visitors to support them while their work is shown side-by-side with galleries in a traditional art fair format.  It is a little bit tucked away but worth seeking out.

Programming for the tenth anniversary sees a major exhibition “LONDON LIVES” located in the Embankment Galleries,celebrating London’s rich traditions of photography and celebrating London and what people get up to here, showing the melting pot that it is. On view are works by thirty Londoners and London based photographers. Look out for influential photographer Nadav Kander’s project where a black floor and a white wall were installed in an unoccupied commercial space within The Mall, a shopping centre in Walthamstow, East London. In the days that followed, curious passers by were drawn in, invited to stand still before the lens, exactly as they were. The result is a sculpture like representation of Londoners. There is an empty pedestal to the side of the exhibit where at 4pm daily there will be a limited number of newspapers featuring images from this series will be available for visitors to take home. A collector’s item to treasure.

Nadav Kander, London Lives, Photo London 2025, Somerset House. Image credit Natascha Milsom.

Internationally renowned street photographer Nick Turpin is showing his series titled On the Night Bus (2017) of London commuters behind steamy blurred bus windows which soften the contours of the faces and figures behind them. Turpin’s compositions offer a unique insight into the lives of others, glimpsing into the real person in transit between two worlds. 

At the far end of the Embankment galleries is a dimly lit room housing a dramatic series by Julia Fullerton-Batten of whimsical, idiosyncratic and tragic happenings in the history of the Thames as it winds through London. Her style is inspired by cinema, using dramatically lit and staged scenes. Flooding of Tate Britain (2018) is remarkable. Her pictures are so unusual and will have you continually re-examining the works.

Nick Turpin’s On the Night Bus series. © Nick Turpin.

The Pavilion at the heart of Photo London, located in the Somerset House courtyard, is the place to discover some of the heavy-hitting galleries. A real showstopper as you enter the Pavilion is Flower Gallery (G24), which presents an eclectic and engaging mix. One piece that particularly caught my eye was Mont Saint Michel VII (2022) by Elger Esser.

Persons Projects (G23) specialises in Modern Nordic Art and represents an outstanding group of artists. Of note is Mikko Rikala, The Joy Prevails, (2025), with ethereal cloud pigment prints are coupled with a strip of reflective brass material between.

Emily Allchurch’s new body of work, The Six Seasons. © Emily Allchurch.

GBS Fine Art, Wells (G22) featured Emily Allchurch’s new body of work, The Six Seasons, re-imagining Bruegel’s paintings, using assemblages of thousands of contemporary photographs always taken by herself, in the English landscape. By recreating Bruegel’s paintings with images from today, Emily looks at the central theme of the ‘Seasons’ – man’s relationship to nature and the land – and asks what has changed in the intervening centuries, and what has stayed the same. They are highly detailed and captivating works.

Emily Allchurch’s new body of work, The Six Seasons, GBS Fine Art, Wells (G22), Photo London 2025, Somerset House.

Amanda Mean’s series of Water Glass. © Amanda Mean

PERSIEHL & HEINE, Hamburg (G08)- Amanda Mean’s series of Water Glass, Gelatin silver print on baryta paper, will stop you in your tracks. She often works with everyday objects as her subject matter, bringing light bulbs, drinking glasses, and even plants into the darkroom and placing them under the enlarger to capture them in stark detail onto light-sensitive paper. 

Amanda Mean’s series of Water Glass, PERSIEHL & HEINE, Hamburg (G08), Photo London 2025, Somerset House.

Robin Hunter Blake, Guerin Projects, London (E02), Photo London 2025, Somerset House. Image credit Natascha Milsom.

Other Galleries we noted in the East and West Wings:

Hungry Eye Gallery, Amsterdam (A05) is an exclusive showcase of Dutch photographic talent featuring the works of Nina Hauben, Schilte & Portielje, Sara Punt. Asha Swillensemerges as a promising talent. Her artistic work seamlessly blends fashion and fine art, drawing inspiration from Dior-like designs.  Her images are a digital collage with specific attention to light and shadows creating striking contrast.

Guerin Projects, London (E02) has a beautifully curated space presenting a new series of works by contemporary photographer Robin Hunter Blake with a sculpture by Auguste Rodin at its centre. Robin Hunter Blake is a British-American photographer and director based in London aged 25. A rising young star to keep your eye on. His stroboscopic experimentation series using traditional developing techniques – in this case multiple-exposure silver gelatine prints – in his home studio. His work is deeply romantic and emotional. His work has been short listed for the Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer of the Year Award.

David Bailey, Dellasposa Gallery, London (W02), Photo London 2025, Somerset House. Image credit Natascha Milsom.

Lee Miller Archives, Chiddingly Nr Lewes (E05) The Lee Miller Archives is a small, privately run archive dedicated to conserving, publishing and cataloguing the lifestyle and holding of works by Lee Miller and her husband RolandPenrose. This year’s LMA booth at Photo London presents the highest number of lifetime works, including works specifically deaccessioned for sale at Photo London. The works centre mostly around her war journalism, tying the booth to the recently released movie LEE starring Kate Winslet.

Dellasposa Gallery, London (W02) is for fans of legendary photographer David Bailey. A solo presentation unveiling his rare and iconic photographs and varying subject matters.

© Joseph McKenzie.

McKenzie & Hamilton, Edinburgh (W10) Joseph McKenzie’s work stood out with his pure black and white post-war photography, he is considered one of the greatest photographers to emerge from this period and has left a vast legacy of photographic work.

Polka Gallerie, Paris (F08) for some extraordinary nature photography by Sebastião Salgado who captures the majesty of our land so beautifully with striking black and white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally charged compositions.

© Sebastião Salgado.

Galerie Oriane, Munich (F11) presents a striking solo exhibition by Franco-Chinese artist Du Zhenjun, who lives between Paris and Shanghai. Inspired by Bosch and Brueghel, his series Babel World and Colosseum offer a poetic, critical vision of today’s world—where biblical myths, classical ruins, and digital chaos collide. Trained in Shanghai and Rennes. His monumental digital collages, built from thousands of online images, depict dystopian worlds marked by overpopulation, excess, and surveillance. The work involved in creating the work is mothing short of monumental.

Lastly, there’s a small Book Market championing independent publishers that is well worth dipping into. For lovers of London, Hoxton Mini Press offers an outstanding selection of books capturing all aspects of life in the city. There are also several books dedicated to renowned photographers whose work is on display throughout the fair.

Date: 15 - 18 May 2025. Location: Somerset House, Strand WC2R 1LA. Price: Adult day ticket £32.00, Concession £24.00, off Peak after 5pm, £20. Book now.

Review by Natascha Milsom