This portrait photograph of British MC, rapper, songwriter and record producer, Skepta was commissioned for the Guardian Guide in 2016.

This work was consequently shown as part of the Get Up Stand Up Now exhibition at Somerset House during summer 2019.

Olivia's success in music photography is partly down to the personal relationship she builds with her subjects. Spending time in the lead up to shoots getting to know musicians at parties or in the dressing room during hair and make-up gives her the insights needed to create truly personal and representative photographs. 

"Black and white photography is kind of like the love of my life,” she says. “A big part of that is how it allows you in a very literal sense to remove the colour, and especially for portraiture just look at a person. A lot of what I do is also about race and masculinity, and there’s something about the use of black and white in that situation which is quite metaphorical.”

The National Portrait Gallery recently acquired six of Olivia Rose's photographs including one of Skepta. In 2016 Olivia Rose released This is Grime, a book which tells the oral and visual history of the music scene through the people within it such as Wiley and Stormzy. In doing so, Olivia photographed 171 MC’s and producers in just 153 days.

Olivia Rose is also including a photograph of J Hus in the auction. 

Accolades

London College of Fashion, Photography.

Awards: Winner of the Best UK Urban Video at the UKVMAs in 2018 for Jorja Smith’s Blue Lights. Selected for the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain award, 2017. Winner of the WBW Awards Photographer of the Year, 2016. 

Publications: This is Grime, 2016 - the definitive book on Britain’s most provocative music genre, written by Hattie Collins.

Commercial clients include ASOS, Nike, McQ, Napapijri, Clarks Originals, Billionaire Boys Club, Timberland, The Kooples and The Barbican. Editorial clients include i-D, Vogue, Dazed and Confused, Clash, The Fader and Brick.