Thom Pierce

Thom Pierce is an award-winning British documentary portrait photographer currently based in South Africa. 

His work has been exhibited and published globally, and featured in human rights campaigns.

Influenced by the post-apartheid work of South African photographer Jodi Bieber, alongside traditional portraitists such as Arnold Newman and Irving Penn, Thom is passionate about creating dramatic, captivating images that draw an audience into his subjects’ human stories, with the goal of promoting empathy and understanding of their situations. He works quickly, and only in a consented collaboration, bringing his camera and lighting skills into his sitters’ space and time, to allow them to find their own comfort within the scene.

Much of his work is driven by the goal of highlighting social injustice in South Africa, through human stories. His acclaimed The Price of Gold portrait series drew international attention to the plight of thousands of gold miners attempting to claim compensation for the serious health effects of silica dust.

In other projects, such as the featured The Horsemen of Semonkong series, Thom documents gentler stories about humanity. His images of a rural horse-riding community in Lesotho, who wear antique blankets transported to their world by British colonials, explores the rare, timeless tranquillity of one community within a chaotic contemporary world.

Thom splits his time between commissions, campaigns, personal projects and “The Actionists”, an ongoing initiative which profiles on-the-ground innovators around South Africa who are making tangible, positive change in their community. In 2026 he is moving back home to reconnect with his roots and launch a British version of The Actionists, featuring everyday changemakers from around the UK. 

Collectors C-type prints (820mm x 672mm) of The Horsemen of Semonkong are available exclusively to Old Jet Gallery customers in editions of nine.