PAUL SOSO
(1963-2020)

Paul went to drama school in Edinburgh back in the 1980s, and that flair for the dramatic infuses all his work. 

 

He moved to London a few years later and called the city home for the rest of his life. Though he came to photography relatively late in life, he found he had an uncanny ability to capture a story in a split-second of film, and there’s a feeling of movement and character in all his work - whether he was shooting on the street, in the club or in the studio.

 

As a black British artist, Paul was always wary of the establishment and never had a solo gallery exhibition in his lifetime. Instead, he found his people among the underground, fetish and alt subcultures of London, earning the trust of his subjects over decades. 

 

His talent and discretion gained him unparalleled access from 2010 to 2020, allowing him to capture the spirit of a liberated pre-Covid era in venues and private spaces that are quickly being lost to history. 

 

The first Covid lockdown in 2020, just days after Paul’s death, marked a turning point for underground culture in London. The long hiatus for the club scene (and subsequent closure of dozens of nightclubs and businesses) meant that the capital’s nightlife has never been the same since. 

 

So Paul’s photography inadvertently captures the end of an era: a time when the alternative community could gather in now-demolished venues on never-to-be-repeated nights, with Paul as their unique, trusted witness.

 

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