A Presentation of Pristine Portraiture: Northerners 2014 by Rory Lewis
If there is one thing better than acquiring style, it is capturing it. Leading North West photographer Rory Lewis is making headlines in both regional and national newspapers with his ´Northerners´ 2014 exhibition of celebrity portraiture photography which provides yet another outstanding contribution to the visual arts fields in Northern England.
Rory, who left a potential career in medicine after walking away from his studies at Cambridge has since captured an enviable career in photography by acquiring an impressive array of clients and campaigns such as Debenhams, John Lewis, Jamie Carragher and Emma Rigby to name a few. Recently, I was fortunate enough to catch up with Rory ´Across the Pond´ in New York by the medium of Skype. Here´s what the digital Maestro had to say;
´Being a Northerner myself, this was a project which was very close to my heart. I decided to use my skills in photography to have a retrospective of the great talent that comes from this part of the country´ quoted Rory.
Amongst Rory´s sitters, was the internationally renowned actor David Warner. ´The last time David sat for someone, it was Cecil Beaton in 1966. He was very quick to inform me that he did not particularly enjoy having his picture taken. With these two counts in my head, I was rather nervous initially, however after concluding an enjoyable shoot and getting to know the man behind the image, I think that the portrait does him justice.´ Going by the final product, I cannot dispute this claim.
Rory continued another anecdote about brothers-in-arms and best friends Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart; ´I am a huge fan of Star Trek, much to the dismay of my Fiancée Alexandra, so this sitting was especially memorable for me, not only as I flew to New York at short notice (while Patrick rearranged obligations to sit for me) but also the fact that I got to speak with and capture the moment of a dearly loved actor. This was pretty special.´ Rory continued ´Then back on home soil, I was requested to attend the home of Sir Ian McKellen for my next sitting in London. As you can imagine Sir Ian was highly entertaining, charismatic and this truly made for a captivating few hours and a very powerful final image. I can see why these two icons are best friends. I just hope they shared favourable comparisons of the shoot! ´
´To date, this has been what I consider to be my finest work, and I am overwhelmed by the support I have been given from companies such as Calumet and British Airways. I am looking to develop this idea in the future through further subjects, topics and locations. Several of my London clients are going to the National Portrait Gallery to see my submissions, which for me is indeed a proud moment.´
The collection consists of 100 plus portraits from a cross section of Northern Celebrities, Sports Personalities, Actors, Politicians and people in the public eye. The exhibition features sittings with Sir Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Sir Patrick Stewart, Emma Rigby, Sir Derek Jacobi and many other leading faces which has flown Rory from Liverpool to London, New York and everywhere in between so far. In addition to this, the National Portrait Gallery in London will also be exhibiting Rory´s work within their current exhibitions for 2014.
Rory´s hometown of Liverpool is the location of the exhibition, taking pride of place within the prestigious Metquarter centre, before it travels to Manchester and then London, during which time he hopes to raise £10000 for UNICEF, to aid children all over the world in need of support.
Northerners 2014 includes a private open evening with champagne reception along with a talk about the photographers experience in the field to date. Tickets are still available for the opening night, but will sure to be gone in a flash.
You can read more about the exhibition or opening night tickets here: http://rorylewisphotography.com/2014-rory-lewis-photographer-exhibition/
The exhibition is open from Thursday 24th July until Thursday 26th July 2014, is free and open to the general public and supported by Calumet Photography.
