Photographer Jack Davison’s challenge: Three days in London and 111 portraits (37 per day)

At the latest edition of Paris Photo, held in November 2025, a series of black-and-white portraits caught the attention of both the public and the media. Their public display followed a large-scale installation from the 2024 edition, dedicated to the complete works of the German portrait photographer August Sander (1876-1964). That year, the newly-renovated Grand Palais had welcomed visitors with his celebrated project, People of the 20th Century.

Last fall, 87 photographs by Jack Davison entitled Portraits of London occupied the Cob Gallery’s discreet stand. Small in size, yet powerful in impact, they quickly drew the viewer’s eye; despite being laden with classical references, they felt undeniably contemporary.

“I’ve always been drawn to the simplicity of the German photographer’s portraits,” the British photographer acknowledged, during a video conference with EL PAÍS. “They convey so much all at once, starting from the bare essentials.” However, the Paris Photo installation didn’t win him over. “The portraits demanded that the viewer engage with them, but [since they were] presented en masse — and at a height that prevented them from being appreciated — I don’t think they achieved their purpose.”

Even so, the refined nature of the work left its mark on the British photographer. He had long felt a need for more portraits and greater restraint in his own practice. He wanted more direct portraits, a more intimate and tactile photography, in keeping with the vernacular photography of the 1930s and 40s, which has always sparked his interest. Hence his decision to undertake an ambitious project in a short period of time: to spend three days in London during the month of November, photographing as many people as possible. From those days emerged the series exhibited at the photography fair, later compiled into a photobook that was released this year: 13-15 November. Portraits: London (2026).

“It was quite a challenge,” Davison sighs. He’s known as a fashion and documentary photographer, as well as for his use of dramatic chiaroscuro. “I shot 111 people in three days. About 37 portraits a day. The experience reminded me how much I love portraiture. It appeals to me because I love people and I believe in the magic that can happen between photographer and model. In that brief instant, [a result comes about from the] collaboration. I look for those small moments of emotion when someone isn’t consciously revealing themselves… almost when they’re not on the defensive.”

Many of the models were selected on the streets of London by casting director Coco Wu. Others were acquaintances of the photographer. Although they differ greatly from one another, each possesses a unique character that seems to place them outside of time. “I never set out to say, ‘This is London,’ but rather to present a version of an imaginary London,” the photographer explains. “I was drawn to the idea that the November day could have belonged to more recent years, as well as to a hundred years ago.” Printed using the photopolymer intaglio technique, the depth of the different shades of black – as well as their texture – demand the viewer’s closeness, simultaneously offering a tactile and contemplative sensation.

Davison strives to offer the viewer as little information as possible. “Their imagination is as important as mine,” the artist notes. Thus, he focuses on the face, omitting the torso and simplifying the elements, until only an almost-symbolic gesture remains, in pursuit of emotion. The hair, at times, acquires a sculptural texture. Framed in very close-up shots, the subjects sometimes pose while wearing hoods. This allows the artist to conceal any distinctive feature that might diminish the intensity of the expression, or place the photographs in a specific time period. At the same time – with a nod to Ingmar Bergman’s film The Seventh Seal (1957) – this helps to simplify the faces, surrounding them with mystery. “As a whole, there’s something sectarian about [the photographs], which could evoke ideas of both spirituality and other types of communities,” Davison points out.

Sometimes, he manipulates images, in order to abstract the faces. “In one of my favorite portraits, I imagined a kind of superimposition, as if two female faces collided, where one is projected as a circle onto the surface of the other,” he explains. “Through this transparency, a mouth and ghostly teeth become visible. I like the idea of approaching a face — which seems orderly — and then encountering an abstraction. It’s about playing with the audience’s expectations.”

The idea is to carry out this project in different locations. And perhaps, in some of them, Davison will use color. Even so, he believes that black and white offer the possibility of perceiving the subtleties of emotion more clearly.

Beyond the series’ formal properties, November 13-15. Portraits: London proposes a contemplative look in a time of visual saturation. Stripped of context, the portraits share an intensity that’s both silent and theatrical, which — without belonging entirely to any particular time — continues to engage the viewer. They demand closeness. And, only upon approaching them, do they seem to speak directly to the viewer.

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