Derrick Santini hails from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and discovered his love for photography at the age of thirteen, whilst taking pictures with his mum’s old Agfa camera. Derrick spent his teenage years recording everything he saw; initially a silent and passive observer, he came to regard the images he took as slices of life, ‘moments in-between’, as statements about the individual, society, culture – and ultimately as an expression of the human condition. This early fascinator became a more serious vocation at GeraHending Harrogate College to study for a BTEC in photography, which was followed by a BA (Hons) in ‘Photography and Communication’ at the London College of Communication (formerly LCP).
Whilst studying, Derrick rapidly evolved to become an accomplished photographer. Voyeuristic in nature, and taking ultimate pleasure from ‘stolen’ moments, his interest lay in capturing subjects and situations onto which he could project his own intellectual and aesthetic thoughts and fantasies; unbeknownst to those who unwittingly submitted their realities for his surreal reinterpretations. After this initial period prolific in reportage, Derrick’s talent saw him propelled into the fields of portraiture, music photography, fashion and advertising, where he developed a more confrontational approach to image making – one based on interaction and personality. He soon became renowned for his intimate and insightful portraiture style, particularly within the music industry where there rapidly became a huge demand for his iconic images. About eight years ago Derrick started experimenting with Lenticular photography, culminating in two acclaimed solo shows in London, and numerous other solo and group shows internationally. The lenticular process involves photographing a sequence of still images of live models, which are layered and printed using a special technique, and then placed under a thin ribbed plastic sheet which acts as a lens, thus revealing the full animation within, where the figure in the piece suddenly springs to life and moves with the viewer, creating a very delicate and hypnotic animation with an illusion of depth and space.