Simon Roberts was born in South London in 1974. His professional photography career began in 1997 after gaining a BA Hons degree in Human Geography from Sheffield University, followed by a Distinction in Photojournalism from the National Union for the Training of Journalists.




To date he has carried out projects in Ukraine, Chechnya, America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Israel and Palestine. These projects examine diverse issues, from Leprosy and HIV/Aids in Zimbabwe and secret duelling fraternities in German Universities to clandestine gatherings of pyro-maniacs in the Nevada desert and the resurgence of old communist holiday resorts on the Crimea.




His work has been published widely in the national and international press including major photo stories for Time, Granta, Details, Guardian Weekend, Sunday Times Magazine, Esquire, Der Spiegel and Le Monde 2.




In July 2004 Simon left his native London and spent a year travelling across Russia, in the process creating one of the most comprehensive photographic accounts of this vast country by a Westerner. Motherland is a bold visual statement about the nature of contemporary Russia, fifteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His images are not clichéd representations of a Russia ground down by poverty and despair; rather, he presents a beautiful and awe-inspiring land, with a dignified people empowered by a growing optimism and a deep rooted sense of national esteem.




Among many awards, Simon has won the Sunday Times Magazine ‘Ian Parry Award’ (1998), was a student on the World Press Masterclass in Amsterdam (2003) and identified by Photo District News as one of their ‘Emerging Artists’ (2004). Most recently he won the ‘Bright Spark Award’ from the Magenta Foundation in Toronto (2006), received a Getty Grant for Editorial Photography (2006) and was featured in the Independent Magazine as one of the ‘rising stars of 2007’.




Simon’s work has been exhibited worldwide including recent shows at Paris Photo and the Lianzhou Photo Festival in China. His first solo show will be held at The Photographers’ Gallery, London in February 2007.




His photographs are held in a number of important public and private collections and are represented by The Photographers’ Gallery Print Room in London. He lives in Brighton with his wife and daughter.




Motherland, his first monograph, will be published in March 2007 by Chris Boot.