Davy Jones

Bio

Born in Liverpool, Davy originally studied physics before switching to politics and history at the University of Liverpool. While studying, he developed a strong interest in documentary photography so began to attend workshops at the Open Eye gallery. Around a year after graduation, he decided to become a professional photographer. He specialised in the documentary and portrait genres working with London-based design agencies on a range of branding projects for the corporate world – including Apple Computers, British Telecom, Barclays Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, Unicef and Unilever. In tandem with his commercial practice, he developed his personal practice, and this work was nominated for the National Media Museum/MACK First Book Award. He has exhibited work in the UK and Europe. Within his teaching practice, he is particularly interested in issues surrounding inclusivity in order to better support diverse international cohorts and to help guide students towards development of praxis.

Some highlights from his career as a professional photographer: working in the Kalahari documenting the San people for CAFOD, photographing from the top of the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland for British Telecom, being selected as one of the artists featured in the Victoria and Albert museum’s 150^th anniversary book (https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1171113/contribution-to-vas-150th-anniversary-photograph-jones-davy/),photographing service stations in Sweden, hitch-hiking through the Okavango, winning a grant from the Fundación Botín to study with renowned British documentary photographer Paul Graham (https://www.moma.org/artists/2286) in Santander. He’s also had memorable encounters with famous Georges – tea with Beatle George Harrison, meeting George Best, and drinking with jazz musician George Melly.

After returning to education – gaining an MA in Photographic Studies – he turned to teaching. He’s taught both FE and HE for the last eight years. He has continued to study, gaining another MA in History of Art (with Photography), a postgraduate certificate in Creative Arts Education (PGCert) and Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

His MA dissertation centred on the photographic work executed during the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal and was nominated for the UK Postgraduate Dissertation Prize in Art History from the Association for Art Historians. Currently, he is an MPhil/PhD (History of Art) candidate at Birkbeck, University of London and his thesis title is, Monstrous Fecundity, The Hallucinations Of Capital: The Traffic In Photographic Albums Of The Work Of Victorian Commercial Photographers.’

Research interests include art and social theory (particularly Marxist theory), documentary photography, history and theory of photography, Victorian commercial photography, the economics of Victorian photographic studios and photographic albums, early modern English and Dutch art, the Industrial Revolution, radical art movements. He has a strong interest in pedagogy and his focus is on delivery of critical and contextual studies, particularly threshold concepts in art and design for international students from level three onwards. As part of his role, he has lectured to university students, assessed portfolios, interviewed candidates, and supported teacher training in Seoul, Tianjin, Beijing, Qingdao and Wuhan. Aside from teaching and PhD study, he is working on a textbook on threshold concepts in art and design for foundation students and have an expression of interest from a German academic publisher (De Gruyter) in this project.