The Well

In the world of fashion, ‘The well’ is industry terminology for the main image section of a magazine. For influential British photographer Nigel Shafran, this space has served as a place for unexpected creativity, subversive critique and wry commentary.

Shafran’s relationship with the world of commercial photography begins in the mid-1980s as a teenager, continuing through to the iconic magazine years of i-D and The Face, and into a recent resurgence in his idiosyncratic, unpretentious approach to the fashion shoot within the pages of Vogue and more. Only recently did Shafran — who is known for his delicate, personal approach of weaving together converging photographic narratives — begin to understand his continuous engagement with the commercial world as a project in itself. The Well is a space to critique and reflect the worlds of fashion from the inside, bringing his trademark simplicity and capacity to disarm the viewer into this charged, complicated world.

This landmark publication, edited and designed by Linda van Deursen, chronicles Shafran’s commercial and un-commercial approach to photography, with interviews and reflections between Shafran and his peers threaded throughout.