Creating art is the craft of bringing life to a canvas, and for Desmond Burdon, life has been extraordinary.
DB was born in the mid-50s in Damascus to his Irish, United Nations delegates parents. His childhood years were spent moving, exploring, and assimilating into the various cultures of Syria, Ireland, Greece, Egypt, Italy, and the UK. At an early age, his parents gave him his first proper camera, he discovered that documenting the life around him helped him better understand the constant visual stimulation around him. His experiences shaped not only how he saw the world but also how he could make other people see it as well.
DB still sees the world through a keen, childlike eye, giving his work an element of play and curiosity. As he grew, his ability in art progressed into incorporating a wider range of media, blending photographic techniques with painting, drawing, graphics, and layers of everyday objects, creating a unique vision and style.
With three decades of international photography career in advertising under his belt, based in central London, he had 14 agents worldwide, offering him assignments from a very wide spectrum of clients, like Philip Morris (Marlboro), Lindt Chocolate, Mercedes Benz, British Airways, to mention a few.
One of the leading advertising photographers in London during the heydays of the '80s and '90s, until the advent of digital technology had a significant impact on advertising, making it very difficult to find satisfaction from working for advertising agencies. He packed his bags and headed to New Zealand, where he still mostly lives. Rediscovering and exploring new boundaries in blending and truely mixing media to create a finished personalized ARTwork.
This journey has been exciting, stimulating, and has finally opened the door to truly expressing himself, and in the process, having some serious fun!
