User:Simon Frederick 2018

Born in London, of parents from the Caribbean island of Grenada. Self-taught, he has none of the conventions that academia, tradition and technique sometimes dictate. Simon’s flair for visuals and multidisciplinary approach involves a creative expression that lives outside the boundaries, That often sees him walking against the tide of the popularly held opinion or perspective; His work provokes us, in some instances, helping us see from different perspectives. This is a constant feature of his work; The focus of which, is the visual exploration of people and culture, and the facets of human nature that makes us feel, that engenders his work memorable. Highly regarded to be at the vanguard of his discipline, with a career punctuated by firsts; Simon has made recent television appearances on Sky Arts, as the lead judge of their debut pan European series Master of Photography, which he co-hosted with Hollywood royalty Isabella Rossellini. He conceived, produced and directed the award winning series Black Is The New Black, for BBC Two, with the portfolio of portrait's that he shot of his subjects during the filming of the show, making history as the largest acquisition of African-Caribbean sitters by the National Portrait Gallery, to become part of the Gallery's permanent collection. The gallery’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, said the portraits were striking and “powerfully reflect the diversity and variety of contemporary British achievement in public life”. The highlights of 2018 have seen Simon, delivering a new critically acclaimed documentary series, entitled They’ve Gotta Have Us for  BBC TWO,  as well as the opening of his Black Is The New Black, exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Simon was honoured to be recently profiled amongst 2019's 100 'Most Influential Black Britons' in the category of Media,Publishing, & Entertainment alongside Vogue’s Vanessa Kingori and Edward Enninful, Artist and Director Steve McQueen, Actor David Harewood, Novelist Zadie Smith and Actor, Comedian and co-founder of charity Comic Relief Sir Lenny Henry.