Born and raised in Alberta, Canada, Wes pursued a studio-intensive program at the Alberta University of the Arts, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography.
After a long and successful career in fashion photography, Wes returned to live in Alberta, Canada after residing and working in Milan, Italy, and New York several years ago. He continues to photograph on location responding to the strange bifurcated world of beauty and brutality. Photographing the ubiquitous and often unnoticed objects we pass by in our everyday routines, the scenes he is attracted to are simple and ordinary.
Attuned to the ambiguous and abstract nature of life, the photographs contain multi-layered metaphors of melancholy, unmasking issues of fear, pain, loss, and impermanence, including social injustice and oppression while embracing the healing journey.
Bell is currently working on a photobook project entitled On the Line. It includes seven interrelated series of black-and-white photographs that he prints in his analogue darkroom located in his home.
