Warren and Nick: Dark Arts

Acclaimed photography duo Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones inaugurate the Vinyl Factory’s new gallery space in Chelsea, London, with their first solo show, When the Night Falls. An exclusive edit of their evocative series of images inspired by the band U.N.K.L.E. is presented here alongside an excerpt of the group’s “Money and Run” featuring Nick Cave. The artworks were created over the past two years by mixing innovative light painting, infrared and solarization techniques with digital manipulation. “A little like Picasso did light painting, we’ve taken that much further in terms of how we control the shutter, how we strategically place light back into the darkroom,” explains Du Preez. Navigating between creative and commercial projects, with clients and partners spanning Haunch of Venison, the National Portrait Gallery, BMW and Lancôme, as well as producing artwork for the likes of Björk and Massive Attack, Du Preez and Thornton Jones strive to combine surrealist fantasy with classical beauty. “We aim to create things you’ve never seen before", says Du Preez. "We strive for those moments that are almost-memories of the first things that nuked our minds.”