Bruce Cowell, a fine-art photographer based in Canberra, Australia, has spent four decades refining his craft, creating images that transcend traditional photography. His work is a visual exploration of human connection, storytelling, and emotion. More than a profession, photography is a means of engaging with people through a universal visual language. With an extensive background in professional photography, Cowell seamlessly integrates technical expertise with artistic depth, producing compositions that capture the essence of life’s fleeting yet significant moments.
His images aim to evoke emotion rather than serve as mere documentation. Through his distinctive approach, which often involves black-and-white or subdued color palettes, he moves beyond the constraints of time and place, inviting viewers into a metaphorical space where deeper meanings emerge. His work speaks to themes of love, compassion, and the shared human experience. In this interview, Cowell discusses his artistic philosophy, creative process, and the personal experiences that shape his unique visual language.
Here is the artist’s interview.
What do you want people to feel in your work?
Having worked in the restoration and preservation of motion picture film I see a similarity between the way a movie is constructed and how our lives are a series of moments like the individual frames that make a movie. These moments are unique yet connected to every other moment and together form the narrative of our lives. These moments can be powerful, even life changing, and sometimes they pass us by with barely a thought.They are, however the building blocks of our lives. As an artist I seek to capture those moments of substance and find within them those uniquely human concepts of meaning, understanding, connection, love and how we all share what it means to be human. More specifically, I seek those moments that transcend time and place and become iconic and universal. My photography uses a unique visual language and compositional style, the purpose of which is to take the viewer away from the here-and-now reality of a scene and into a more metaphorical setting where the deeper meaning comes through. I use black and white or sometimes subdued colour to take the scene even further away from the here-and-now reality. I seek to capture the eternal in everyday scenes. Those moments that transcend time and place and link us to the universe. As passengers on a piece of rock hurtling through space if we are to survive in any meaningful way we have to seek and find those common themes of connection. That I believe is the force that drives me as an artist and I hope that something resembling that comes through my work. I hope that people will see in my work progressive themes of connection, compassion, love and how all humans are driven by similar dreams, needs and emotions. In a world where, in spite of social media, people are becoming more disconnected and political forces are attempting to normalise hate and division, the arts and artists worldwide stand against these forces. The composer Robert Schumann wrote “To shed light into the darkness of men’s hearts, such is the duty of the artist”. We need that light now more than ever and as artists we have a responsibility to shine that light as brightly as possible by connecting people emotionally through the visual language of our work. My work is not meant to be intellectual but is to be experienced emotionally. I’m encouraged by the fact that this emotional resonance is understood and experienced by many reviewers.
What is your creative process like?
Bruce: My creative process is a combination of a lifetime in photography and a state of mind. My background as a professional photographer has imprinted into my subconscious the tools, techniques and philosophy of image creation to the point where I don’t have to think about how I capture an image. I can concentrate on the elements of a scene and how that scene is representative of a more intuitive understanding of the broader human condition. Photography is very much about the here-and-now reality and it is a real challenge to distill the essence of a scene to the point where it becomes metaphorical. Simplicity and depth are at the core of my creative process. The composition has to be strong and quite simple so it can allow its viewer to project their own world view and life experience into the image. I see my creative process as a collaboration between myself as an artist and each person who views my work. Because of this collaboration each image has to be strong, simple and persuasive for it to have meaning for all of the people who view it. Strength and simplicity in the composition of an image is an essential part of my visual language. Of course none of this means anything unless an image has a strong message. A successful image always has a strong message that is understood by most people and one that each person can relate to at a personal level. Photography uses a visual language that communicates at an intuitive level and often can’t be explained with words. It is a language that is independent of cultural differences and speaks directly to the subconscious. Every human understands the message. As a visual artist my role is to lead this conversation without being restrictive in terms of the message. My images allow each viewer a degree of interpretation that means something to them. Photography is essentially a media of communication and as an artist I try to understand those essential motivations that drive us and give life meaning. It’s often said that a photograph tells us more about the photographer than it does about its subject. That’s true, of course, for all of the visual arts. My work comes from deep inside and is a reflection of who I am as a person. It has to be, and the fact that it connects so well with many others tells me about how much of meaning we share. The themes of love, connection and a shared humanity illuminate my work and serve as a bridge into our collective subconscious. My work has recently been awarded the Persona Art Honours from Contemporary Art Station because of its distinctive signature and a recognition that it creates a new visual language. This is something that has arisen out of my unique understanding of the world and expressed through my work. This is at the core of my creative process. That I try to stay true to my own way of expression with as few outside influences as possible. Out of this has arisen a new visual language that is unique to my work but one that is understood by many others.
Do any personal experiences shape your work?
Bruce: I think some people are born to be creative. Looking back through my paternal family line there are many creative people. Singers, writers, inventors dot my family tree and I think I have largely inherited my creativity. Being a visual artist requires much more than creative genes. It demands a great deal of hard work and learning. I’ve been a professional photographer for around fifty years and that more than anything has shaped my work. Running in parallel with that professional work has been what I refer to as my fine art work. The two streams have influenced each other until more recently when I’ve been able to concentrate almost exclusively on the fine art side. My work now draws a great deal from my commercial photography in terms of its persuasive strength but also on my forays into photojournalism. There is a close affinity between my current work and photojournalism as both delve into the intricacies of the human condition. I can trace my passion for visual storytelling back into my early years when I watched the French cinema classic “The Red Balloon” at about aged nine. Even though as a child I found the story captivating it was the visual aesthetic that made the most impact. The way the visual language of the film made use of light, particularly back light and its use of composition began my journey in the visual art of photography. It was, of course, a visual language that came out of the early twentieth century and reached it’s height in the mid century work, in photography, of Henry Cartier Bresson, Robert Doisneau and others. I’ve seen the film recently and was a bit surprised by how much influence that aesthetic has had and is still having on my work. The mid century European beginnings of my work has since evolved into a different, new aesthetic with its own unique visual language, but the influence of these early years is obvious.
What challenges do you face as an artist?
Bruce: The most significant challenge I face in my work is how to find the essential message in everyday scenes. Doing so demands a particular mental space that can be elusive. Some days I find it very difficult and on others it flows easily. The more successful days are those where I find a calm, optimistic and compassionate mental state. It’s not surprising that my work created in this space connects with people. The visual arts is a challenging area in which to work. To achieve anything of value the artist must remain true to who they are as a person. It has to be genuine and personal. One thing that has become apparent to me over the years is the need to limit the outside influences and avoid the latest trends and fashions. I think that this limiting of outside forces is what has caused my work to have naturally created a new visual language. It’s not something I have ever set out to do. I’m not sure it’s possible to deliberately create a new visual language in photography. It is something that has occurred naturally as my work has developed over time. My photography is, I believe, a sincere expression of who I am as a person. The art and the artist are inseparable.
Bruce Cowell’s photography is more than a collection of images—it is a bridge to universal human emotions. His ability to capture moments that resonate deeply with viewers highlights the power of photography as an art form. By staying true to his vision and resisting fleeting trends, Cowell has developed a unique visual language that continues to inspire. His work serves as a reminder of the importance of connection, understanding, and storytelling in an increasingly fragmented world. Through his lens, he brings light to the shared experiences that unite us all.
