Dark Energy Signs Dominic Cyriax

Dominic Cyriax has signed to the Dark Energy roster for UK representation.

Dominic is best known for his long-standing collaborations with super cook, Nigella Lawson, but it is his passion for the human experience of food, not the food itself, that has always given his work the edge.

He says: “I was never a food photographer, so the food was always instructed by the people who were eating it for me. The real essence is the joy in the people preparing and eating the food. Sometimes food ads are just about the food tech. there’s beauty in that of course, but for me food means so much more.”

Dark Energy founder Matt Brown adds: “I’m a huge fan of Dominic’s work.  He has a wealth of experience and is able to capture the joy of food, beautifully on camera.  Whether it’s for a supermarket campaign or a celebrity chef TV show, he’ll have your mouth watering and down the shops in no time!”

The acclaimed director also has long standing relationships with the likes of Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencers and reflects that “working with Supermarkets is great because they really embrace advertising, it’s always a lot of fun”.

Cyriax also has a passion for travel and the food discoveries that come with it. “I have just come back from Brazil and before that I went to Iceland,” he says. My love of food definitely inspires my travel.  When we go to new places, we’re always looking for interesting things and places to eat.”

On his new found home, on Dark Energy’s roster, he adds, ‘I’m excited to work with Matt. He’s just the person of the moment who really understands the cataclysmic changes in advertising.’

Cyriax first cut his teeth as an editor, before turning his hand to directing. Before long he found himself directing car shows, Channel 4 documentaries, socially driven content and a three-part, £2 million series with the SAS, before someone asked if he’d ever turned his hand to food.

His first food-led project involved elderly cooks, who worked on staff for the gentry,  where he recalls, “there was a recipe that involved an 84 year old lady climbing up a 9 ft ladder and pouring cream from a great height into marmalade. She often missed her mark! It made the marmalade light and fluffy and well, she definitely didn’t believe in hand whisks!’ It was after ‘Upper Crust’ that Nigella Lawson contacted him and the rest as they say is history.