Tim Walker: Story Teller at Somerset House

I have long admired the photography of Tim Walker, many would curse me for ripping out pages of my beloved Vogues, but some of his images were just too great to stay in the folds of a magazine, and had to take pride of place on my bedroom walls. So I was super excited when Somerset House announced an exhibition of his photography, sponsored by Mulberry. The exhibition itself certainly didn't disappoint, not only was it free admission, the rooms were extensive and well laid out. They were also as visually exciting as his photography, larger-than-life props complimented the framed photos, from giant grotesque dolls and clown puppets, to huge snails and detailed insects with delicate, transparent wings.

The extraordinary photographs in the exhibition are drawn from the pages of the world's glossy magazines: British, French, American and Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, W and The New Yorker. With the addition of an interesting behind-the-scenes video, the exhibition showed me just how extensive the production of his photography is. It is less like a fashion shoot and more like a film set- there are hair and make-up artists, fashion stylists and costume fitters, model makers, set designers, builders, producers and painters, prop suppliers and that is just the beginning. He claims the camera "is simply a box put between you and what you want to capture". But there you have Walker at the centre of it all, among all this creative noise, creating unique, fantastical images that go beyond fashion and the clothes the model is wearing.

Images: Tim Walker