Portraits

If the camera disappears and the person before me emerges from within themselves, I feel I have achieved my aim. Accomplishing this requires kindness, a commitment to truthfulness, and a genuine wish to capture glimpses of these qualities in another. I want my collaborators to feel truly understood.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing many fascinating and unique individuals. This has become my favourite way to spend time with people.

Malcolm Bennett - poet and author (1958-2015)

A Life Out Loud

I met Malcolm at a poetry reading night at the House of St Barnabas in Soho. In his early days, Malcolm delivered impassioned, searing lines of poetry in the manner of a German dictator. Calling into question the validity of art as commerce, played out against the back-drop of institutionalised inertia; among other things!

In the short time I knew him he was a charming and vivid wit, with his own inimitable style. 

Malcolm Bennett

Malcolm Bennett

Malcolm Bennett

Malcolm Bennett

Malcolm Bennett

Malcolm Bennett

Jessica Lauren - composer and musician

I first met Jessica during an evening out with mutual friends. I was captivated by the wondrous planes of her face and her calm, mellow demeanour. To me, she embodies a timeless aesthetic, paired with a warmth of spirit that shines through her musicality.

Jessica Lauren

Jessica Lauren

Jessica Lauren

Jessica Lauren

Paul Hiles - artist

Paul Hiles 

Jed Phoenix - fashion designer

Jed is an authentic and uncompromising individual — a talented independent designer deeply rooted in the subcultural ethos of punk and fetish. She meticulously crafts garments designed to empower individuals seeking liberation or stylish restraint.

Jed Phoenix: The Woman, The Machine

Jed Phoenix

Duncan Gray - music producer

Duncan Gray

Duncan Gray

Ann Shenton - musician

Ann Shenton

Ann Shenton

Ziad Ghanem - fashion designer

Ziad Ghanem 

Ziad Ghanem 

Jonathan Ross - gallerist

Jonathan Ross

Jonathan Ross

Robin Sheppard - television director

Robin Sheppard

Robin Sheppard

Evelyne Allard - aerial artist

Evelyne Allard

Evelyne Allard

Francis Angol - movement artist and choreographer

Francis Angol 

Francis Angol 

Danila Tarcinale - jewellery designer

Danila Tarcinale

Russell Lownsborough - jewellery designer

Russell Lownsborough

Michelle Olley - writer, journalist, editor

Scottee - performance artist and writer

Scottee

Scottee

Sayoko Papillon - musician

Sayoko Papillon, also known as Sayoko Paris, is a Japanese composer, singer, musician, poet, and performer based in Paris. Silvia Bombardini of ASVOF has described her music as possessing 'a delicate, limpid, and slippery poetry, as if her notes were gently laid on a thin, gauzy layer of ice.'

Sayoko Papillon

Sayoko Papillon

Jeremy Reed - poet and author

Jeremy Reed 

Jeremy Reed 

Bronwen Whitaker, Picture Framer

Bronwen Whitaker

"You really capture something indefinable about each sitter, it's so intriguing. You find that secret place that I think all women must have and need where childlike comfort lies." Bronwen

Bronwen Whitaker

Bronwen Whitaker

Yulia Chaplina - concert pianist

Yulia gave her debut performance at the age of seven, playing Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in F Minor with the Rostov State Symphony Orchestra. Her performances are both powerful and masterfully executed. Yulia's profound connection to the scores she interprets so adeptly transforms each performance into a nuanced journey through the composer’s sonic architecture and landscapes. Through her hands, she conjures entire worlds.

Yulia Chaplina

Yulia Chaplina

Yulia Chaplina

Yulia Chaplina

Yulia Chaplina

Neil Libbert - photographer
This photograph was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery for their permanent collection.

Neil Libbert

Neil Libbert

William Fawke - sculptor (1948-2018)

William Fawke

William Fawke

William Fawke

Raven Kaliana - artist and human rights activist

Raven Kaliana

Raven Kaliana 

Raven Kaliana

Raven Kaliana 

Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko - composer and musician

Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko

Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko

Kate Daisy Grant - composer and musician

Kate Daisy Grant 

Kate Daisy Grant 

Danik Abishev - acrobat

Charlotte and Cherry

These portraits stem from my admiration for Charlotte’s work as a wildlife conservationist. I wanted to capture her unique bond with this particular squirrel, Cherry. Charlotte found Cherry collapsed in a park in Walthamstow, her face dreadfully battered, and nursed her back to health.

Cherry had a severe malocclusion, which necessitated the removal of her front teeth. As a result, she cannot be released back into the wild and now has a permanent home with Charlotte. She lives alongside a menagerie of other creatures, all of whom Charlotte dedicates her time to nurturing and protecting.

Charlotte and Cherry

Grog Rox - singer and musician

Grog Rox - singer and musician

Grog Rox - singer and musician

Grog Rox - singer and musician

Sarah Angliss - composer, performance, electronic artist

Sarah Angliss

Sarah Angliss

More portraits of Sarah here.

Dameon Priestly - Artist

Tear Paper

Tear Paper from Gaynor Perry on Vimeo.

written, performed & produced by ℗ © Gaynor Perry

Tear Paper

Under this we’ve all been touched with joy

No matter how, you could have spoken to me

We tear paper and disappear

Tear paper and disappear

What you say to me is not what you do to me

There’s a fire glowing deep inside

The oracle slips through our fingers

So we chase it all through the night

And I’m happy to the marrow, to the marrow

My skull sings Old Star for you

Under this we’ve all been touched with joy

No matter how we came into this world

We tear paper and disappear

Tear paper

You bite the hand that lifts you out of babel

The fangs sink in and blood is drawn

I’ve seen you succumb waiting for the sun 

You destroy all that you adore

Just be happy to the marrow, to the marrow

My skull sings Old Star

We tear paper and disappear

Tear paper and disappear

What you say and what you do

Tear it up

TEAR PAPER is my latest audiovisual offering. I love every aspect of making music, and that includes exploring it visually.

Often, I discover my motifs, imagery, and melodies while scouring the landscapes of my nocturnal haunting grounds — or they’re gifted to me by the somnambulant interlopers who populate my sleeping hours. I always want to bring something back from a dream, like a souvenir — something tangible. A song can be a gorgeous artefact, the perfect vessel to contain an experience.

A Momentous Meeting

I was sitting quietly under an oak tree, watching the shadows of hawks and planes dance across the field, when a lovely visitor stopped and looked me in the eye. I had never seen a deer so close before. She was completely unperturbed by my presence. The encounter felt momentous.

The following night, I dreamed of seeing my future self. I was lost, and she stepped out of a golden door to meet me. This vision brought me comfort, reassuring me that the woman I will become at the end of my life is watching over me, willing me into being.

Coincidentally, this is the same location the falcon, Ruby, visited whilst I was exploring the footsteps of my childhood in A Child's Rumour.

Below, my journey to the field, through the enchanting light.

Following on from this fortuitous encounter with the roe deer I created a book Journeys Through The Enchanting Light:

I am fortunate to live within an hour's walking distance from my workplace. This daily commute takes me through fields where foxes pounce over swaying wheat and Canada geese convene after the harvest. I trace old pathways along stretches of farmland, under tangled boughs, collecting my thoughts and capturing these scenes on my phone. I am often stopped in my tracks by thorns — a torn shirt sleeve — and occasionally catch sight of a fleeting roe deer. 

Sometimes, I venture further afield to embrace the woods at Bookham Commons or the ruins of Walsingham Abbey. My spirit often reaches these places before my eyes do.

In the new world, uncontrolled industry permeates the air, while the old world remains under nature's spell, illuminated by the enchanting light.

PREVIEW HERE

Corfe Castle – Isle of Purbeck

Corfe Castle is a historic fortification with a rich and colourful history spanning over a thousand years.

The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula located in Dorset, England. Despite its name, it is not a true island but is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, and the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. The western boundary is less well-defined, with some sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay.

The name "Isle of Purbeck" dates back to at least 948 AD, when it was recorded as "Purbicinga," meaning "of the people of Purbic," which may have been a former Celtic name. The term "Isle" likely arose because the area is almost surrounded by water, giving it a peninsula character.

***

Cat of the Heavens

Cat of the Heavens from Gaynor Perry on Vimeo.

concept, film, & music
composed, performed & produced by
© ℗ Gaynor Perry

Still from Cat Of The Heavens film featuring Amanda Hull as 'Fidella'.

Cat of the Heavens

Since I was a bird, I made a nest.  

I took my light from the stars lying in the snow.  

I drew my soul from the aquifer below,  

since I was a bird.  

All the garages are besieged by vines;  

ruthless Winter speaks to the worms with an icy tongue.  

The world and her moon are a theatre for you,  

so take a spider bite with good grace and spin in space.  

Cat of the heavens,  

strange harmony in the hearth light,  

a watcher in the woods — what are you thinking about?  

Fold me into your little paws;  

I promise not to fly away.  

Open up, open up, open up  

the doors of the sky.  

The world and her moon are a theatre for you,  

so take a spider bite with good grace and spin in space.  

Cat of the heavens,  

strange harmony in the hearth light,  

a watcher in the woods — what are you thinking about?  

Fold me into your little paws;  

I promise not to fly away.  

Cat of the Heavens is the concluding track on my album, A CHILD'S RUMOUR. Creating this collection has been a deeply fulfilling adventure. Each song captures a real-time audio export of my personal experiences over the past five years, interwoven with cherished memories. Immersing myself in the creation of these sounds has been invaluable in shaping my identity, as self-expression through music feels like an essential aspect of my daily human existence. And yet, at my core, I am a woman yearning to transform into a bird.

Amanda Hull as 'Fidella'

Fidella

"ma'a, the Egyptian word for "truth," which comes into Greek as moira, "fate." The hieroglyphic word is spelled with a ruler, indicating that measurement is the ultimate truth, the cosmic order, the invisible underlying pattern that manifests in geometry, in astronomy, and in sound. The word herw, "sound." The hieroglyph that defines this word is a picture of a lion's tail, suggesting that the essential meaning of the word is not simply sound but the essence of sound, vibration, as the tail of a cat vibrates like a guitar string before the cat strikes its prey. The hieroglyphic word herw is commonly paired with the word ma'a, "truth," as the noble goal of life: one strives at death to have accomplished ma'a herw, not to speak the truth or have a true voice but to be true to the clean underlying pattern of what one is, the ma'a herw–the true vibration, the vibration of truth."

An excerpt from The Dawning Moon of the Mind, unlocking the pyramid texts by Susan Brind Morrow

The Spy & Other Stories

“Often uncanny and verging on unnerving, these beautifully selected black and white shots are rich with a mythical quality all of their own. Perry invites you to share her wonder in the mysteries of nature and folklore, revealing the underlying narratives that she feels so strongly to be true.” – Eleanor Pearce, artist

“The bright shadows left by future dreams once remembered.” – Andrew Back, artist

The Spy & Other Stories

Imagine telling an epic story about 
yourself and the world through your eyes 
that isn't a lie. 

Last night, I had some vivid dreams that highlighted the power of being inspired by and appreciating nature. That sense of awe felt like being lifted into the air, akin to flight. The wildness came through strongly and spoke to the wildness within me.

In one of the dreams, I met a stag and somehow knew this: If you encounter a stag in the heather and he bows to you, be sure to step to the side before returning a low bow. This way, he will know you revere him in greeting. Otherwise, he will crush your skull with his antlers.

This world is not what it seems, 
and it is certainly not what we are told it is. 
In truth, there is no sense of order here,
 so our little hearts crave stories that glue us together.

Sentinel, St Anne's Well, East Yorkshire

***

a solo exhibition by Gaynor Perry

featuring black & white photography

at the Peggy Jay Gallery

Burgh House, New End Square, London NW3 1LT

Wednesday 16 to Sunday 27 May, 2018

Preview: Wednesday 16 May 6.30pm-8.30pm

The exhibition is open 12-5pm

Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays

(nearest tube Hampstead)

event page

www.burghhouse.org.uk

The Unexpected Falcon

We were graced with an unexpected visit from an unaccompanied falcon while making this film. From the tags on her legs, we learned her name was Ruby. She arrived at a very timely moment, the sound of a bell marking her arrival—just as I had asked the little girl in the film to run around an oak tree, as if casting a spell.

Ruby lingered for a while, hopping along on the ground and performing low swoops over our heads. Her raptorial presence amazed and inspired us. She then followed us from above as we walked home through the old, wooded pathways by the fields.

Perhaps our imagination extends beyond ourselves, reaching out toward the things we love—and maybe all of nature is listening, waiting for a chance to reach back.

Film here  Album here  More here


Exhibition

The Spy

Portrait of Bourne, Senescent Tree

Portrait of Bert

The Dawn has a lot to Offer

Mädchen - mixed media, hand-made puppet