Dreaming Difference (signed)

Publisher's description

‘… guides us towards a new appreciation of what photography might be… It is a book above all, about the beauty of the image and providing sustenance for the soul.’ (Professor John Kippin)

Dreaming Difference is a 176 page book, lavishly illustrated with colour and black and white images, signed by the artist.

In this much-anticipated retrospective publication covering over four decades of output, a glorious gallery of photographs and photographic projects allows you to step inside David Williams’ world and to appreciate its complexity and passion. This beautiful book is full of creative imaginings and philosophical meditations that will reward repeated visits.

Williams outlines key moments in a calling that saw him propelled from a career as a musician, to a vocation as an acclaimed photographic artist. His essay is complemented by an appreciation of his work by Tom Normand, the photo-historian and author of ‘Scottish Photography – a history’. Academic and critical comments on his work expand the appreciation of Williams’ oeuvre.

David Williams is an Edinburgh-based photographic artist. He was Head of Photography at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, retiring from ECA in 2017. Prior to becoming involved in photography he was a professional musician and songwriter, employed by Ringo Starr’s publishing house. Williams’ intensely lyrical, visually captivating work is exhibited across the globe and held in various private collections. His photographs have been published and anthologised throughout Europe, in the USA and in Japan. He has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards. Most notably he was presented with the BBC ‘150 Years of Photography Award’. He was also nominated for the highly prestigious Kyoto Prize (Arts and Philosophy), in Japan.

‘A beautiful record of an extraordinary (ongoing) photographic legacy. A profound collection of images accompanied by fascinating and thought-provoking texts. I thoroughly recommend this publication.’ (Richard Boll – winner, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize)

‘I own two of David’s photographs which I endlessly enjoy. His personal humanity is communicated through his imagery, which overcomes the technical to reveal the soul beneath.’ (Dame Helen Mirren)

‘The pictures gathered here are not about what happened on the day they were made. That is an extraordinarily courageous stance to adopt: it’s a photograph, Williams seems to say over and over again, but don’t look first at what it’s of. Look (if you can) at what it’s about. And that will be worth your while.’ (Francis Hodgson, formerly critic of photography at the Financial Times)

Limited edition with print also available