Photographer
Robert Taylor came to photography in the late 1980s via the British Royal Air Force, the English Bar and publishing in Nigeria. His work, exhibited and published widely, is held in several permanent collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Society and several Oxbridge colleges. His practice has always been divided between two ostensibly separate realms: portrait collections commissioned by academic and scientific institutions, while his more personal work is mostly in exploration and celebration of identity, desire and the joys of sensuality and aesthetics. His early work included contributions to LGBT+ human rights campaigns, and HIV prevention projects in collaboration with key LGBT rights organisations, as well as a safer sex education book with the human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell. For over a decade, he has specialised in commissioned collections of portraits of women of outstanding achievement in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) for academic institutions. His return to living in London has been marked by a renewed engagement with projects exploring LGBT+ and Black Queer experiences through art-based projects. Other active interests include rehabilitation through the arts in UK prisons, jewellery (making and wearing), and collecting art.