Interview
Nils Davey
Nils Davey is an award-winning creative director, photographer, and artist living in Los Angeles, California.
Davey's creative direction work is focused on experiential creations, both commercial and artistic.
Davey's photography work is focused on an exploration of reality and social commentary.
Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you started your journey in the art world?
“I was born in the UK and studied traditional graphic design, illustration and photography techniques there. I've always had a love of art from an early age, that drew from a lot of diverse sources from abstract modern art to photography to comic book art. While studying in London from 1997 - 2000 for my bachelors, I blended art techniques, street art, photography and graphic design into my creative processes.”
“My work crosses a number of disciplines from reportage photography through to experiential concepts. My photography is based around an exploration of realism and often comments on today’s world in a documentary and non-staged style.
My creative direction work is really a partnership between myself and my clients and tries to examine how people interact with experiences in a real-life scenario.”
Which current art world trends are you following?
“I’m following the NFT trend pretty closely but not because I want to participate. From what I can tell, it's a gold rush style money grab, and I would estimate the bubble to burst at some point soon. The environmental costs of NFT minting are also a concern. Outside of the NFT trend, I am interested in the intersection of art and capitalism. Performative pieces such as Banky's self shredding artwork, the Art Basel Miami banana, and the Italian artist who sold an 'invisible sculpture' are all very interesting performative statements that I feel comment pretty severely on capitalism and the art world.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“I have larger projects that I definitely plan in advance - both in my personal photography work and in my work as a creative director. However, my favourite form of photography is not planned and is purely improvised. Even during a scheduled and themed photoshoot, I like to see if I can discover an improvised moment, go off theme, or think about ways to create scenarios where improvisation and 'random-ness' can occur.”
What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?
“As a photographer, I switch between modern DSLR cameras and more analogue cameras depending on the mood. As a creative director, I work across various mediums, but follow a pretty rigid creative process from ideation through to execution.”
“I really do think Banksy's 'Love Is In The Bin' will be looked back on as a seminal piece of work. Much like Duchamp's 'Fountain' I think LIITB is a new way of thinking about art, creating art, and commenting on art that could potentially change the way a lot of art is approached in the future.”
What does your art mean to you?
“I think art can mean anything to anyone. One of my favourite topics of conversation is with people who 'don't get' art. Exploring the divergence in thinking between someone who thinks a certain piece of art is rubbish versus someone who appreciates it is oftentimes more interesting than the art piece itself. Much like my interest in performative art pieces, I think the really interesting area in the art world today is where art has a cultural impact or makes a statement on the art world itself. It's all very meta. I even started a podcast in this thread with my partner who is very much a 'doesn't get art' person to explore past and current works of art that bridge the gap between art and performance.”
