28/02/2026
Brian Aris/ Celebrating George
27th March to 2nd May
Book Signing Saturday 11th April 6-9pm
And meet Brian Aris!
Timed to coincide with the publication of his new book Brian Aris/Celebrating George, published by Octopus on 9th April. The book and exhibition by world renowned photographer Brian Aris explores three decades photographing one of the greatest vocal performers of the 20th Century, George Michael.
George Michael hated having his photo taken, which makes series of images such a special tribute.
Brian Aris describes his time photographing George Michael “From the early days, when he first burst on the scene in 1981 as one half of Wham!, the pop duo he formed with Andrew Ridgeley, to the later years when he went on to enjoy even greater worldwide success as a sophisticated and glamorous solo artist, George was always fascinating to work with.
For such an amazingly extroverted and apparently self-assured performer on stage, he could be remarkably shy and self-conscious in front of the stills camera, and yet he always knew precisely what look he wanted to achieve and the image he wanted to present to the fans, checking every shot minutely before finally approving it.
It helped our professional relationship that I loved his music and that superbly soulful voice. With his exceptional talents he seemed destined to become one of the greatest artists of his generation, with a long-lasting career stretching in front of him - but tragically that was not to be.
Before his untimely death in 2016, at the age of just 53, he had nevertheless succeeded in establishing himself as one of our most significant cultural icons and one of the best-selling musicians and songwriters of all time, with record sales of 120 million worldwide that are still growing.
At the same time, George became an active LGBT rights campaigner and HIV charity fundraiser, whilst also very privately and anonymously supporting numerous other charities, always avoiding any personal publicity. The full extent of his extraordinary generosity only really came to light after his passing.
We hope you will enjoy Aris’s photographs of an exceptionally gifted, extraordinarily generous, extremely kind and thoughtful man, who thankfully left us a legacy of the most wonderful music that will live long into the future.
The Book Signing Of Celebrating George is Saturday 11th April. 6-9pm
Come by and get yourself a signed copy of this insightful book
Price £40 and meet Brian Aris
Limited edition prints will also be available at the gallery or online see www.lucy-bell.com for more information
