A new, star-studded exhibition is coming to Bournemouth from 7 November through to 12 February 2026.
Opening at TheGallery on Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) campus on Thursday 6 November, See or be Seen celebrates the extraordinary career of Andy Earl, a photographer whose imagery has redefined how we experience music, art and popular culture.
Renowned for his panoramic vistas and striking portraits, Earl’s remarkable career includes portraits of prominent public figures, including HRH Prince Charles (now King Charles III) and Sir David Attenborough.
Creating more than 400 album covers, Earl has also worked with some of the world’s most influential music artists including Johnny Cash, Mark Ronson, Pink Floyd, Prince, Madonna and Robbie Williams.
As well as album covers, Earl also directed in excess of 20 music videos, including an award-winning project with The Rolling Stones that pioneered visual techniques later adopted in cinema. The technique Earl developed “gave everything a softness and rhythm, a blurry, sexy, druggy feel that suited the legend of The Rolling Stones”, he says.
The innovative technique required shooting 12,000 stills, holding a camera in each hand, and then numbering each negative for animators so they could create a morphing effect by merging two images together to produce a three-dimensional, statuesque effect. This visual effect and technique later inspired the filmmakers of The Matrix who developed it further into what became known as ‘bullet time’.
Showing a mix of his biggest stars and also never before exhibited works, Earl has been working with TheGallery’s curator, Violet McClean, on an extra special show as he explains:
“I’ve spent months going through all my work from the last 40 years to select the most impactful pieces for this show.
“There are the celebrities that I’ve photographed over the years which I think fans will find fascinating, as they’ve been captured in different eras. Then, there’s those shots that haven’t been exhibited before, the ones that I think say something a bit different, gave me a buzz when I took them and show something new.”
Violet adds: “Andy's iconic work embodies the philosophy of how photography functions as both document and object, engaging with social contexts, music, environment and storytelling.
“In Andy's work, even accidents can influence creative discovery. An experimental flash misfire during his studies is what inspired his revolutionary technique combining flash and blur, which became one of his signature styles and established a unique visual language.”
Previously a Visiting Tutor in the 1990s, and then a Governor at AUB, Earl has a long history with the University and was part of TheGallery’s first ever exhibition when it opened in 1998.
“We’re extremely lucky to have Andy exhibiting here in Bournemouth.” Violet adds, “It’s thanks to AUB’s long history with Andy and his unwavering commitment to us and photography that we’re able to share his extraordinary catalogue of work.”
The formal opening of Andy Earl: See or be Seen is open to the public from 17.30–19.30 on Thursday 6 November. The exhibition marks the official launch of TheGallery’s 2025–2026 Exhibition Programme at Arts University Bournemouth.
