David Uzochukwu explains the inspirations for his otherworldly, dramatic imagery

David Uzochukwu is a photographer, filmmaker and artist based in Berlin exploring ideas of strength, masculinity, resilience, longing and belonging through his digitally manipulated work. When he joined our editor-in-chief Matt Alagiah for a chat during last month’s Nicer Tuesdays, he had just finished writing and directing his first film.

Throughout their interview, David and Matt touched on many topics – including how David initially got into photography at a young age because someone he had a crush on happened to be into it – but a particularly fascinating part of the conversation concerned David’s aesthetics. David’s images are unmistakable as his own, and are distinct across his entire commercial and personal portfolio. Oftentimes characters appear with animal-like additions to their bodies, like fins or wings, and are set in dramatic and moody landscapes that could be earth or could be another planet entirely. This, David explained, is born from his time reading fantasy novels as a form of escapism; a precursor to him picking up a camera. Through creating these kinds of images, he attempts to cling to the things in life that inspire him, that feel like a breath of fresh air. It’s also his way of controlling the world around him, of instilling a sense of freedom to see the world how he wants to see it, and that includes rejecting many elements of the modern world. He sees this not so much as an exploration of nature or a return to a primordial time, but as a means to conjure up something that already exists: a parallel plain.