I first met Ewen in January 2009 but have been a fan of his work since seeing his groundbreaking editorial of the late 90s for The Face & Sleaze Nation. It immediately spoke to an audience interested in subcultures, multiculturalism, music, graphic art, photography, fashion and primarily youth culture.

In 2001 Ewen embarked upon a project simply called Teenagers documenting British adolescents as they come to terms with socialising, dating and sex. His signature flash style became synonymous with a close aspect to his subjects. What separates him from other social-documentarians is the feeling you get from the pictures that he knows and likes his subjects, that they trust him enough to allow him entry and that he has an understanding of what’s going on without being embedded in the scenes himself.

Not surprisingly, in 2002 Martin Parr tipped him as the most promising newcomer of that year. Commercial clients starting calling and he began working with bands producing cover art and behind the scenes tour material for The Streets & The White Stripes. There’s many reasons why Ewen continues to be a sought after photographer for clients. He’s quick, precise, spontaneous, collaborative, with a great eye for what’s current, on trend and in line with brand objectives. Over the last 2 years he’s produced work for Puma, Sony, Nike, Adidas, Boxfresh/Kano, T mobile, Vodafone and Lastminute.com

In 2004 London’s burgeoning grime scene allowed him access to take photographs during an open mic session in South London. The book 'Open Mic’ is one of the best examples of Ewen’s work to date and led to him being awarded a commission by Massive Attack to produce a film around gang culture in Britian for their latest album Heliogland.

http://www.ewenspencer.com

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