Charlie Hamilton James

In this episode, Charlie Hamilton Scott, a world renowned photographer and wildlife filmmaker and BAFTA and Emmy award-winning director chats with Carrie Scott. His three-decade career has evolved from traditional wildlife photography into powerful conceptual work that challenges our detachment from environmental destruction. With refreshing honesty, James confronts the contradictions in his own relationship with his art—creating beautiful images of devastating subjects, questioning the impact of his work while continuing to make it, and balancing sincere conservation messaging with dark humor. This conversation explores not just environmental activism through art, but the very human struggle of trying to make a difference in a world that seems increasingly numb to both beauty and tragedy. James reveals how personal experiences shaped his unique visual language and why, despite his pessimism, he keeps creating work that demands we pay attention to what we're losing.

From Carrie: "Let's be honest, the art world can be pretty allergic to sincerity, whether it's animals, activism, actual emotion, it's just not cool to be sincere. Maybe that's a worldwide problem, not just an art world problem, but it is a thing. And yet here I am, talking to Charlie Hamilton James about his project, which is totally sincere and I tried to catch him out about ten times. I tried to like find the fatal flaw in his project and it's just not there. This is a man who truly believes that what he's doing is important, because like it is crucially important. This conversation wasn't easy. It's not easy to engage with his work on the level that it requires, but it was so worth having.

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About the Seeing Series

The Seeing Series gets to the heart of what makes an artist tick. By always searching for the motivating truth behind an artist’s practice, we give viewers insider access to some of the most exciting artists in the world, all in a down-to-earth, honest way. From established artists like Rashid Johnson to emerging stars like Simonette Quamina, we speak to the good and the great of the artworld, ultimately creating an accurate portrait of how creatives survive, flourish and function today.