form, precision, pattern: inside the symmetrical photography world of brad walls

from pools to pointe, brad walls captures precision from above

Brad Walls doesn’t just take photos, he reimagines how we see the world. The Australian-born, New York–based visual artist has carved a niche in the art world through his signature aerial style, turning movement and everyday spaces into clean, graphic compositions. Whether it’s ballet dancers, synchronized swimmers, or architectural spaces, Walls captures his subjects from above, transforming them into precise, quiet, visual rhythms. His latest series, PASSÉ, turns the classical form of ballet into minimalist choreography viewed from above, offering a fresh and unexpected perspective on performance. The series is presented in a New York exhibition, on view from September 12th to 14th, 2025.

Ascend | all images courtesy of Brad Walls

immersive red-hued show places visitors at the heart of ballet

In PASSÉ, the Australian photographer presents an immersive exhibition that reimagines ballet through a striking monochromatic red environment. Visitors step onto the original red carpet and into The Red Room, where life-sized photographic prints of dancers from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet School, and Ballet East surround them at eye level, placing audiences within the frame itself. Developed with choreographer Ian Schwaner, the project fuses classical ballet with graphic design precision, highlighting movement, symmetry, and stillness. Guests receive a handwritten postcard from a featured ballerina, transforming observation into a personal keepsake, while the exhibition as a whole blurs the boundary between performer and viewer, inviting audiences to inhabit the emotional world of ballet.

Dead Juliet

Turning Performance into Pattern

But Walls first captured international attention with Pools From Above, the series that distilled pools into studies of geometry, symmetry, and color — an approach that’s now become his visual trademark.

Brad Walls’s artistic language is rooted in restraint. Every image he creates is carefully mapped and sketched before the camera is even lifted. It’s a design-first approach that brings a sense of calm and clarity to his work. ‘I’m drawn to the elegance of order,’ the Australian photographer says. ‘The quiet structure within chaos, the symmetry hiding in human form.’ Whether it’s synchronized swimmers, dancers, or architectural spaces, his subjects are transformed into visual rhythms that are precise, quiet, and full of intention.

With PASSÉ, Walls takes that precision to new heights. Over several months, he worked with more than 60 ballet dancers across New York, choreographing scenes specifically for the aerial lens. The resulting images flatten the stage into canvas, where movement becomes pattern, and the tension between control and grace is magnified. ‘It’s not just a study of dance,’ he notes. ‘It’s a choreography of form, precision, and pattern, seen from a perspective rarely experienced.’

The big one

Inviting Viewers to Step Inside the Frame

This perspective, from directly above, is key to Walls’s voice. What might appear ordinary on the ground becomes striking and unfamiliar from the sky. In Pools From Above, the minimalist images, captured from drone-mounted cameras, found harmony in diving boards, lounge chairs, and turquoise tiles — everyday details reframed into something quietly hypnotic.

Beyond the imagery, Walls is also rethinking how photography is experienced. His upcoming exhibitions move away from the white-cube gallery format, leaning into immersive, sensory-rich environments designed to engage the viewer. ‘I want to create images that people can step into,’ he says. ‘Not just something to look at, but something to feel.’

Unposed, kind of