Jack Davison presents his latest collection, Maroma, at Paris Photo this week. The book documents the Belmond Maroma Beach Riviera Maya resort on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline. Davison, a photographer based in London, grew up in England with its often grey skies. He found the location’s light distinct and rewarding. The images in Maroma capture the texture of that light.
A departure from the holiday snapshot
Davison first used a Canon IXUS at age 15 and has continued photographing since. He studied English Literature at Warwick rather than art school, where he developed his visual language. His work has appeared in British Vogue and the New York Times. He has also been commissioned by fashion houses like Jil Sander, Bottega Veneta and McQueen. The Maroma project began when he was approached by art director Dani Matthews. They aimed to collaborate with local artisans and models.
The resulting book spans just over 100 pages. It lacks a strict chronology. Still lifes sit beside architectural details, while sculptural forms face formal portraits. Local dancers appear in motion. The images possess a palpable warmth and a haziness, yet Davison’s inky blacks maintain their depth. The work pays homage to photographers like Kati Horna and Graciela Iturbide. Davison also credits the local artisans who contributed to the book’s texture.
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The artist describes the work as an attempt to experiment with the forms of nature through light, shadow and movement. He focused on unusual subjects, such as a specific leaf from the Uva de Mar tree. That leaf displayed a dotting pattern caused by disease, which resembled a constellation or splattered ink. This motif repeats throughout the publication, appearing in papaya seeds, corn cobs and water droplets.
These patterns also appear on Melipona bees. In Mayan myth, these bees are portals to the spirit world. Skin becomes another organic surface in the book. In one spread, palm shadows fall across male and female torsos. Dancers wear strings of chillies on their shoulders. Davison recalls the surprising weight of the chillies and their charred scent. He likened them to feathers, imagining the men as transformed into Alebrijes, the fantastical creatures of Mexican folk sculpture.
The photographs are technically layered using digital and analogue processes, intaglio printmaking, multiple exposures and overprinting. Writing in the accompanying text, William Wilkie notes that the results sit outside of time. They are untethered from formal codes that might locate them in the past or present. This visual language suits the setting of Maroma, where Mayan tradition is an active practice of stewardship and ceremony. Wilkie cites Robin Wall Kimmerer, who describes time not as a river, but as a lake in which the past, present and future co-exist.
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A singular vision in colour
Davison has always loved images that feel graphic and punchy in their tones and hues. While he plays in black-and-white spaces, Maroma and Mexico offer a richness of colour. The images capture an intensity of green, sticky ant sap, scarlet-scorched macaw feathers and families of spotted corn husks.
Paris Photo runs at the Grand Palais until 15 November 2026. For more information, visit parisphoto.com. Belmond. Visit belmond.com.
