James makes evocative portraits of Cuban musicians and dancers.

James Sparshatt began his professional photographic career in the early nineties in the rarefied atmosphere of La Paz, Bolivia, working as a photojournalist and eventually editor of the Bolivian Times. It was here he discovered Latin music and the splashes of festive colour and swirling movement it brought to the otherwise bleak, windswept canvas of the Altiplano. It was a fresh new world a long way from his previous life. It captured and held his imagination. His work today reflects that vibrancy and intimately captures the beauty and spirit of his subjects. He has been exhibited in New York, London, Spain, Cuba and across the UK. His 2006 exhibition at the Royal National Theatre was described in the Sunday Telegraph as “a dazzling collection of black and white images…”. James’ first book, Cuba Land of Spirit, was published in October 2006, and we hosted an exhibition of James’ photographs at the gallery in early 2007.