David Clerihew was born in Scotland in 1974, attended Duncan of Jordenstone College of Art, Dundee, and studied Fine Art. Albert Watson's book Cyclops was published and profoundly impacted his future; Watson, too, graduated from Dundee and was originally from Edinburgh. The parallels inspired Clerihew to take the next step and move to London. Clerihew started to pick up advertising work early on and, by the mid-2000s, was working for many global companies. 

Working with actors and sportspeople, Clerihew carved a market shooting Keyart and campaigns for Nike, Adidas, and Hugo Boss. At this time, Clerihew started challenging himself with personal projects. The first was the Holocaust project, which involved documenting Auschwitz and then working with 21 Survivors. This changed Clerihew's approach to working with people; listening was as important as images. 

The American project was born out of a need to learn more about the US from the people there. Initially, it would be a portrait project, but it grew to include landscapes and portraits. Gun ownership came up frequently and was a perplexing issue. Polarising the population, it's used as a political icon of freedom. The project lay dormant for a few years until Clerihew was inspired by Cornelia Parker's work, particularly Cold Dark Matter. This destruction of objects gave rise to the idea of breaking down the image into something more than itself; it becomes an object rather than just a photograph. A second timeline involves the image being taken, followed by the second action of the bullets hitting the surface. The photos' degradation is like holding a mirror up to America.

Clerihew is interested in challenging the standard process of photography. Photography can sometimes be locked in its science, creating barriers focusing on pristine prints. Breaking down the image surface so it is less delicate creates an object. 

With this in mind, Clerihew's most recent project on the Isle of Skye brings this idea of pushing away from traditional photography forward. JW Turner once tied himself to a boat mast and sailed into a storm on the Thames estuary, which was simple not just to see but to feel what it was like. Stripping back the image to simple elements of colour and light enables the viewers to be open to the elements as if they are emersed the landscape. If you look at Rothko or the work of Howard Hodgkin, you don't quite know why you are drawn in; something happens in the subconscious to let you instinctively determine your emotional response.

Time is a prominent component in photography; for Clerihew, capturing time rather than a decisive moment creates an interesting element, creating a passage of time in a still image.

David lives outside London with his family and has work in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery and exhibited in the Royal Acadamy, London