Renowned photographer Nadav Kander, known for his atmospheric celebrity portraits, is presenting a new exhibition that challenges traditional boundaries between portrait and landscape photography. The Kentish Town-based photographer's latest show, "After Dark," brings together three distinct bodies of work that explore the elemental connections between human subjects and natural environments.
Kander, famous for his moody photographs of celebrities including David Lynch, Adam Pearson, and Benicio Del Toro, sees no fundamental difference between photographing people and landscapes. "I do not see a big divide between a portrait and a landscape that shows human intervention and/or human history," Kander explains. "There is a landscape in the portrait and a portrait in the landscape." This philosophy is evident throughout his new exhibition, which features three series: Dark Line, Colour Fields, and Treow.
The newest series, Treow, takes its name from Old English, where the word means not only "tree" but also "trust" and "promise," giving fresh meaning to the phrase "as strong as oak." Kander has long incorporated trees into his work, often superimposing them onto his famous portraits. "I, for a long time, have been photographing trees or including them in my landscapes," he says. "I only found the dormant tree, the sleeping giants, the tree waiting for renewal profound to me. There is a strength to their endurance, their age and a solid patience to their waiting."
In these tree photographs, Kander reveals human-like qualities in the natural subjects – their wrinkles, age marks, and unique shapes that humanize what he calls "the unbreakable promise of their presence." The photographer notes that oak trees are close relatives to humans, further emphasizing the connection between his portrait and landscape work.
The Colour Fields series represents what Kander describes as "manmade views, lit by manmade light." Drawing inspiration from Greek mythology, specifically the deity Nyx, who represents both the god and personification of night, Kander explores the transformative power of artificial illumination. "It was quite a revelation to me and my heart skipped a beat when I read she was born out of chaos, which to me meant the chaos of day," Kander shares. He explains that while daylight reveals everything and leaves little to imagination, "night becomes quiet, serene, unnerving and unknowing."
The Dark Line series focuses on London's Thames River, which serves as a rich metaphor for perpetual cycles of ending and renewal. Kander's images of the Thames capture what he calls "artefacts of cultural data" – evidence of wars fought, voyages of discovery, and generations of families living and dying along its banks. Despite the potentially somber subject matter, Kander finds deep meaning in these cycles, remarking that the river "widens out and escapes into the ocean, as if exhausted by its history after leaving London."
Kander's approach to photography in this exhibition is deliberately elemental, working with fundamental components like light, color, wood, and water. He draws comparison to traditional Shan shui landscape paintings that depicted the smallness of humanity against the vastness of nature, creating what he describes as "scroll-like essence" in his photographic work. Although his photographs may appear somber or contemplative, Kander insists there is "a deep love for life within them."
The exhibition reflects Kander's broader artistic philosophy about cycles and renewal. In a previous film work, he portrayed himself lying in water that rises to engulf him before receding to reveal him again. This visual metaphor reinforces what he calls "the feeling of cycles and rhythms in the universe far bigger than the human race," a theme that runs throughout all three photographic series.
"Nadav Kander: After Dark" is currently on display at Flowers Gallery in London from September 5 through October 11, 2025. The exhibition showcases Kander's evolution from celebrity portraiture to landscape photography while maintaining his signature atmospheric style and deep philosophical approach to image-making. Through these three bodies of work, Kander demonstrates that photography can capture not just visual subjects, but the essential elements and eternal cycles that connect all living things.
