Tom Hunter is known for his sumptuous, richly colored cibachromes depicting the lives of various subcultural groups, such as squatters and travellers, among whom the artist lives and works. With their formal, stylized compositions, partly based on historical paintings, the works have a grandeur and sense of epic scale that belies the modest, low-key events which they depict. "Life and Death in Hackney", a new series of work that is based loosely on several iconic Pre-Raphaelite paintings, celebrates the travellers who have occupied the fringes of Hackney around the Lea Valley basin and its historic navigation system. They are verbal stories matching the communal social lifestyle that these people lead.
- Alex Bradley -

Nominated by Mark Haworth-Booth, Curator of Photographs, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.