Brian David Stevens (born 1970) is a British photographer, based in London. He has made work on

sound systems Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

, war veterans, the

Grenfell Tower fire On 14 June 2017, a List of fires in high-rise buildings, high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of Public housing in the United Kingdom, flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 British Summer Time, BST ...

, the British coastline and the suicide spot of

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a Chalk Group, chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, East Sussex, Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters, Sussex, Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative ar ...

. Stevens' work is held in the collections of the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

and

National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

Life and work

Stevens is based in London, where he has made a number of photography projects. In 2004 and 2016 he photographed

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

. Each year between 2002 and 2012 he made portraits of war veterans following a ceremony at

The Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the dead of Britain and the British Empire of the First World War, was rededica ...

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

—just their faces photographed close-up, without cap badges, medals and insignia, against a black cloth to obscure the background, and without identifying names in the captions. He photographed the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire every day for a month in 2017. Stevens has also made work elsewhere. He created

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

s from images taken on the shores of Britain, looking out to sea. He spent 12 months documenting the area between

and

Birling Gap East Dean and Friston is a civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex, England.The two villages in the parish are in a dry valley on the South Downs – between Eastbourne three miles (4.8 km) to the east and Sea ...

, in the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

in southern England, an infamous suicide spot.

Publications

Books by Stevens

*''Brighter Later.'' Tartaruga, 2015. With an essay by

Melissa Harrison Melissa Harrison (born 1975) is an English novelist, short story and nature writer. Early Harrison was born in Effingham Junction, Surrey in 1975. She attended a comprehensive school before studying English Literature at the University of Oxf ...

. Edition of 500 copies. *''Beachy Head.'' Another Place, 2017. . Edition of 200 copies. *''Doggerland.'' Another Place, 2018. . Edition of 200 copies.

Books with others

*''There's Always Death To Fall Back On.'' Silverhill Press Photography Number 8. Silver Hill, 2019. With John Moore.

Zines by Stevens

*''It Is Alright To Adore Yourself And Everyone.'' Hamburger Eyes, 2010. *''Wouldn't You Be Rather Be Watching This On Television.'' Hamburger Eyes, 2011. Edition of 100 copies. *''Tyburn Hemp.'' Southport:

Café Royal A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...

, 2013. Edition of 150 copies. *''Mayday.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2014. Edition of 150 copies. *''Notting Hill Sound Systems.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2014. Edition of 150 copies. *''Billy Childish.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2014. Edition of 200 copies. *''Haslingfield Scarecrows.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2015. Edition of 200 copies. *''Notting Hill Soundsystems 2.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2017. Edition of 350 copies.

Screenprint boxsets by Stevens

*''Notting Hill Sound Systems.'' Tartaruga, 2014. *''Notting Hill Sound Systems II.'' Tartaruga.

Publications with contributions by Stevens

*''Inside Burgerworld.'' Brooklyn: Powerhouse, 2007. Edited by Ray Potes. . *''Assignments 3.'' Press Photographer's Year, 2008. *''Stop The War A Graphic History.'' Francis Boutle, 2011. . With a foreword by

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

. *''Mankind Issue 1.'' Hamburger Eyes, 2012. *''The Colony Room Club 1948–2008: A History of Bohemian Soho.'' Palmtree, 2012. By

Sophie Parkin Sophie Parkin (born 6 June 1961) is an English writer, artist and poet. She was previously the proprietor of an arts club in East London, Vout-O-Reenee's, opened in 2014: she left in 2023. Biography Born in London in 1961, Sophie Parkin was sch ...

. .

Collections

Stevens' work is held in the following permanent collections: *

: 3 prints (as of April 2020) *

: 1 print (as of April 2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Brian David 21st-century British photographers Living people 1970 births Photographers from London