Los Angeles-based artist James Mountford isn’t afraid of the dark.

Known for his raw and shadowy subject matter, Mountford’s pieces are realistic yet haunting explorations of form, but Mountford wasn’t always a fine artist.

Having spent over a decade as one of London’s preeminent fashion photographers, Mountford worked with the likes of Vogue, Dior, and Maison Margiela. Despite his success, Mountford became weary of fashion’s limitations. “I grew tired of the fixed standards within the industry, I was more interested in exploring real people with real bodies.”

He took a step back from the commercial world and now uses photography and sculpture as his fine art medium, exploring shape and light in an attempt to create new perspectives.

He and his family also relocated from London to Los Angeles, and it didn’t take long for him to warm up to his new city. James shrugs sheepishly when asked if California has rubbed off on his work at all, “Maybe it has some, I had a show last March and it actually had quite a bit of color in it.”

We spent some time with James, his family and several of his sculptures as he tried on a few of his favorite FWRD Man pieces.