Bryan Adams: rock star, renowned photographer, great friend of The Big Issue. He has photographed everyone from the Queen to Kate Moss, Amy Winehouse and Mick Jagger, but for a new exhibition in London it is Bryan Adams’ photography of Big Issue vendors that are the focus of attention.
The black and white portraits of vendors, taken from 2011-2017 and released in his 2019 book Homeless, are on display in the UK for the first time. And they are stunning. Striking, moving, questioning portraits of people who are so often overlooked or ignored when selling the magazine – some serious, some thoughtful, some full of joy and laughter, but each telling a story. And as we emerge from lockdown, perhaps with new perspectives on the importance of home, the exhibition could not be more timely.
Bryan Adams joined us via Zoom for a special private view of the exhibition, attended by Big Issue founder John Bird.
Adams said: “This has been such a difficult time for everybody, and particularly homeless people. I’m so proud of the Atlas Gallery for taking it on because the whole point of these portraits is to bring this issue of homelessness to light and make people think about it again. Because so many times we just walk past.”
Adams first worked with The Big Issue in 2011, when guest editor Trudie Styler asked him to photograph vendors.
