Photographer
Vanley Burke at The 80's exhibition Tate Britain  2024

Syd Shelton is a photographer and graphic designer. HE studied fine art at Wakefield College of Art. In the early 1970s he began his photography practice following a move to Australia. In Sydney Syd worked as a freelance photojournalist for newspapers such as Nation Review, Tribune, and Digger. In 1975 he had his first solo photographic exhibition ‘Working Class Heroes’ at the Sydney Film-makers Cooperative.

In 1976 Syd returned to London and established the design and photography partnership ‘Hot Pink Heart/Red Wedge Graphics’ which evolved into his current company ‘Graphicsi’. Syd become one of the key activists in the Rock Against Racism movement (RAR). He was a photographer and one of the key designers of the RAR magazine Temporary Hoarding (1976 to 1981). During the 1980s he produced photographs for the press, graphics for the public and private sector/ He also was co-editor and art director of a series of photographic books that included the award winning Day in the Life of London, and Ireland: A Week in the Life of a Nation.

His work has been widely published and exhibited and is in numerous public and private collections including: the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Tate Gallery, The Photographers Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The Istrian Museum of Modern Art, Rock Archive, Eric Frank Fine Art and Autograph.

In 2015 a book of Syd’s RAR associated photographs was published by Autograph, Syd Shelton: Rock Against Racism and accompanied by the touring exhibition of the same name.  A revised version is to be published by Rare Bird books, Los Angeles in December 2022. A monograph of 50 years Syd's work, Stills from Life, was published by Unicorn publisher October in 2024.

 

limited edition prints

all photographs on this site are available as a limited edition of 50 signed and numbered museum quality archival prints

 

A3 at £300 + p&p

A2 at £350 + p&p

A1 at £650 + p&p

 

To order email sydshelton@graphicsi.com