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Andy Earl × Bankside Yards

Opened 08/05/2026

Andy Earl × Bankside Yards

Exhibition overview

This May, Bankside Yards, a Native Land development, will mark a major cultural milestone with the opening of its historic Victorian arches to the general public for the first time in over a century, as a three-month-long photography exhibition opens.

The inaugural public event, Andy Earl × Bankside Yards, celebrates the four-decade career of the acclaimed photographer, filmmaker and artist whose work has defined the visual language of popular culture.

Set within one of the 14 restored Victorian railway arches the international touring exhibition from AUB, curated by Violet M McClean, will feature 40 pieces of work, bringing together large-scale panoramic works alongside smaller, more intimate pieces, allowing audiences to experience both the cinematic ambition and quieter observational detail of Earl’s work.

Across portraiture, landscape, and commissioned imagery, the exhibition highlights his distinctive approach to composition and his long-standing engagement with visual culture. Drawing on fine art, surrealism, and architectural form, Earl’s photographs blur the line between photography and painting through staged and carefully constructed compositions.

Sir David Attenborough standing waist-deep in dark blue ocean water under cloudy blue sky.

Prince in a white shirt extending a hand towards camera, sea in the background.

Person in black costume covered with white teardrop shapes stands on barren landscape, facing distant figure with arms raised near lake.

Woman in white heart t-shirt and black leather skirt walking on pebble beach towards black building with red roof under cloudy sky.

Two magazine covers featuring blonde woman in black clothing. Left: Rolling Stone with red "Love" text. Right: Max magazine close-up portrait.

Man with dark hair wearing white shirt with blue and red floral pattern, looking directly at camera against white background.

Blonde woman in black ribbed top with hand on hip against white geometric patterned background.

Madonna holding trombone horizontally above head, wearing white top and dark leather trousers against white background.

Throughout his career Earl has collaborated with some of the world’s most influential artists, musicians, and national treasures, including Sir David Attenborough, Johnny Cash, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones, and Robbie Williams, producing more than over 400 record and album covers and directing around twenty music videos. His work is defined by a distinctive visual approach, including the development of his “Flash and Blur” technique, which introduced movement and instability into precisely staged images.

The day the exhibition opens – 8 May – marks the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough and in tribute, the exhibition features Earl’s definitive Blue Planet portrait, a cinematic shot of Attenborough wading through a theatrical ocean, captured within the water tanks of Elstree Studios in 2003

As Bankside Yards continues to evolve into London’s newest mixed-use cultural district on the South Bank, the opening of the Victorian arches signals the beginning of a wider cultural programme embedded within the site’s historic fabric. With the delivery of the landmark residential building, Opus, scheduled for completion in early 2027, Andy Earl × Bankside Yards offers an early glimpse of the vibrant neighbourhood as it takes shape.

Man with tripod stands beside large abstract paintings featuring bold blue, yellow, orange and green brushstrokes and geometric shapes.

Andy Earl

Born and raised in Sussex, Andy Earl’s creative journey began in unexpected ways. At 16, he worked as mechanic for James Hunt...

Violet M. McClean

Violet M. McClean is TheGallery’s Curator at Arts University Bournemouth. Her research specialism is the contemporary...

Credits and acknowledgements

London exhibition

A thank you to the following partners:

Bayeux Photographic Lab and KD Fine Art Framers, who've worked with TheGallery at Arts University Bournemouth to mount and print several works for the exhibition.

TYX Studios at King’s Cross, where Andy Earl works.

Farrow Design for the London poster design and for designing Andy Earl’s book Vista.

Too Late Gallery, and to Shona and Dave Brolan for their production support and sponsorship of the London show and venue. Dave Brolan also wrote and produced Andy Earl’s Johnny Cash book.

Native Land Developers at Bankside, for generously providing the gallery space. They're currently developing the Mandarin Oriental Hotel behind the exhibition near Tate Modern and hope the show helps to place Bankside Yards firmly on the cultural map.

Finally, a sincere thank you to Susie Vanner, a client of Andy Earl, for her kind support of the exhibition.

AUB Exhibition Development Team

This exhibition was developed and made possible by Violet M. McClean, Lee Harper, Emily Grigg, Joseph Warin, William Hernandez Abreu and Professor Christian McLening.

A special thanks to Lee Harper, Master Printer, for playing a pivotal role in the successful production and staging of Andy Earl: Exhibition on behalf of TheGallery and AUB, as well as Emily Grigg for her digital curation and for producing moving image content for the A–Z digital showreel. Both Emily and Lee worked closely with Andy Earl on these key elements of the exhibition.

We'd also like to thank Joseph Warin for his outstanding design work across the exhibition, including all Rolling Stones installation and interpretive materials and marketing.