Due to the demolition of the building opposite his studio at the end of 2019, Stewart was inspired by the space becoming flooded by natural daylight. This occurrence temporarily transformed how he was able to work in the space.
Stewart started to photograph formally posed portraits of some of the people who had been involved in his work in several different ways over the past five decades using only the natural light and a large-format camera shooting on 8×10 film. It is left to the viewer to make up their own stories as there is no indication from Stewart as to who has taken which role within Stewart’s career.
By not revealing who the sitters are but symbolically flagging their importance by photographing them so formally, Stewart elevates them to near-celebrity status.
These large format portraits can be considered a comment on the ubiquity of photography heralded by the rise of social media and the notion of the “universal photographer.”
Featherstone Street, at 39 Featherstone Street, is presented as Lambda c-type prints with Aluminium Mounts produced by Genesis Imaging.
Featherstone Street
22 October – 3 December
39 Featherstone Street
London
EC1Y 8RE