‘Focus’ Artist Nat Faulkner Ventures Into the Unknown

Showing in Frieze London’s Focus this year with Brunette Coleman, Nat Faulkner calls analogue photography a ‘magical practice’. In this video, he discusses his love for the endless mutability of the darkroom: its variables of chemistry, environmental factors and time along with the elements of the image itself.

Faulkner’s studio in Greenwich, south London, has something of the alchemist’s laboratory about it. He talks about his ‘palette’ of materials – including long-expired photographic developer – that bring a instinctive quality to his often huge prints.

Faulkner refers to the early pioneers of photography, such as Henry Fox Talbot, for whom every picture was a new expedition whose destination wasn’t determined until the final print was fixed. 

His parallel sculpture practice also reflects a recontextualizing of the technology of the past in a contemporary environment. He uses ‘silvering’, the process by which glass mirrors were traditionally made, which again introduces elements of irregularity and materiality to his pieces.

Faulkner also collaborated with Stone Island to design the staff T-shirts at Frieze London 2024, making full use of the brand’s advanced pigment chemistry. 

About Stone Island

Founded in Italy in 1982, Stone Island has consistently pushed fabric technology and experimentation, particularly focusing on functionality and utilitarianism. As the Official Partner of Focus, Stone Island offers each participating gallery a bursary alongside Frieze’s subsidy. This support helps emerging galleries younger than 12 years take part in Focus and present today’s most forward-thinking artists, underscoring a shared commitment to experimentation, innovation and creative community.

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