As part of Dover Street Market‘s seasonal changeover, British photographer Jamie Hawkesworth will be in-store to sign copies of his latest monograph, The British Isles, a state-of-the nation survey of individual portraits taken across the country.

After initially studying forensic science at university, self-taught Hawkesworth has gone on to become one of the UK’s most acclaimed contemporary photographers, recently collaborating with the likes of Alexander McQueen and Berluti.

Combining traditional documentary photography with street-style portraiture, his use of film and acutely observational eye has amounted to a signature style that is brought to life in his latest book. The British Isles builds upon earlier projects like Preston Bus Station in its unassuming portrayal of people and places. Taken over the course of thirteen years, the book is a record of the photographers’ wanderings across rural towns, barren moors, bustling town centres and remote islands.

Having amassed an archive of around 1,000 photographs, this ethnographic investigation has been whittled down to 304 pages for The British Isles, which presents a nuanced portrayal of the country at a time of immense change. That said, Hawkesworth is not interested in grand statements or reductive conclusions, instead, he lets his subjects do the talking, photographing ordinary people in their day-to-day environments.

Jamie Hawkesworth will be at Dover Street Market London on Friday 6th August between 4-6pm.