Dates: 7 November 2025 – 12 February 2026
Location: TheGallery, AUB Campus
TheGallery at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), in partnership with Technical Services and BA (Hons) Photography, proudly presents See or be Seen, an international exhibition celebrating the work of Andy Earl, acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, artist, and AUB Honorary Fellow.
We're delighted to welcome Andy Earl back to launch TheGallery’s 2025–26 Exhibition Programme. Earl was among the first artists to exhibit with TheGallery in 1998, the year of its establishment, with his debut exhibition Andy Earl: His Photograph. He was awarded an AUB Honorary Fellowship in 2020.
Exhibition overview
See or be Seen celebrates the extraordinary career of Andy Earl, whose imagery has redefined how we experience music, art, and popular culture. His photographs are immersive worlds, from the staged to the surreal, which often blur the lines between painting and photography.
Distinguished by a rare combination of technical mastery, historical awareness, and imaginative daring, Andy's work embodies a philosophy in which the photograph functions as both document and art object, engaging with social context, music, environment, and storytelling. For him, even accidents become catalysts for creative discovery. An experimental flash misfire at art school gave rise to a revolutionary technique combining flash and blur, which became one of his signature styles. This approach established a visual language unique to Andy.
Renowned for his panoramic vistas and striking portraits, Andy has collaborated with some of the world’s most influential artists. He has created over 400 album covers and directed around 20 music videos, including an award-winning project with the Rolling Stones that pioneered visual techniques later adopted in cinema. His work demonstrates a rare ability to fuse commercial appeal with artistic precision, producing images that endure well beyond their original context.
He's collaborated with the likes of Johnny Cash, Pink Floyd, Prince, Madonna, and Robbie Williams, and his remarkable career also includes portraits of prominent public figures, including HRH Prince Charles (now King Charles III) and Sir David Attenborough.
Alongside his photographic and film work, Andy engages deeply with architecture, with his images frequently featuring the works of Foster, Rogers, Future Systems and Niemeyer. Whether documenting contemporary spaces or crafting elaborate visual worlds, his practice reflects consistent conceptual rigour, chronicling both human and architectural transformation over time.
Andy's work is a testament to how photography can be a creative journey; an anthology of defining cultural moments. Curated with passion and precision, See or be Seen invites audiences to experience not only the iconic images that shaped modern photography but also the panoramic and contemplative works that reveal the full breadth of Andy's visionary and visual practice.
"When Andrew Motion was Poet Laureate, he was asked: 'What’s your abiding memory of being at university?' He replied, 'It was my tutor, he walked into my head and turned all the lights on.'
My tutors, Paul Hill and Thomas Joshua Cooper, told us we had to 'eat, sleep, and drink photography,' and I did. They opened up my mind, my curiosity, and my passion for taking photographs. It is thanks to them that I have spent my life living off my imagination.
– Andy Earl, 2025
Exhibition development team
This exhibition was developed and made possible by Violet M. McClean, Lee Harper, Emily Grigg, Joseph Warin, William Hernandez Abreu, Professor Christian McLening, Dale Hurst, Daniel Wild, Laleh Ghavami and Frances Addison.
Andy Earl
Born and raised in Sussex, Andy Earl’s creative journey began in unexpected ways. At 16, he worked as Formula One champion...
MA
Andy Earl: See or be Seen – Private View
Join us for the formal opening and private view of the Andy Earl: See or be Seen exhibition.
Andy Earl in Conversation: 40 Years Behind the Lens
Join us for an exclusive evening with Andy Earl, one of Britain’s most iconic photographers, as he reflects on his remarkable career.
