Courtesy the Artist and Ingleby Gallery ©️ Garry Fabian Miller
Garry Fabian Miller, one of the most inventive and original photographers of his time, makes a very welcome return to Arnolfini, and his home city of Bristol, to present ADORE, a major exhibition celebrating a lifetime of his work.
ADORE invites you to explore Fabian Miller’s ‘camera-less’ practice that experiments with darkness and light, and weaves in work by the artists, writers and thinkers that have inspired him over the years.
Arranged around different elements, ADORE reveals an artist of incredible patience – returning to capture the same grove of hawthorn trees throughout the seasons, year after year – and for whom the slowing of time has taken on a deep-rooted importance.
Beginning with images from Sections of England: The Sea Horizon (1976 to 1977) – originally shown at Arnolfini in 1979 in Fabian Miller’s first ever solo exhibition when he was just 19 years old – the artist’s deep affinity with nature is established.
Followed by early examples of his pre-abstract practice, ADORE introduces audiences to just some of the recurring characters, such as the hawthorn tree and the plants and flowers that adorn his garden and stretch out into the surrounding hedgerows.
With a myriad of ‘artists and makers, gardeners and Quakers, thinkers, and writers’ ADORE welcomes you into a homely space of new tapestries and rugs created with Dovecot, Edinburgh and Dash + Miller, alongside a rich array of pottery, printmaking, archive material and textiles.
Riuros Tapestry (iii) on the loom at Bristol Weaving Mill, 2022
Photographer and © Nicholas J R White
ADORE then moves into themes of light (and colour) that run throughout Fabian Miller’s practice, as his work moves out of the darkroom to discover a new stage of his imagery development process.
Finally, the narrative winds its way back to Dartmoor – the place in which the artist has made his home and found endless inspiration – featuring a collaborative project with photographer Nicholas J R White, and revisiting some of the places that have been the inspiration for earlier works in the exhibition.
ADORE is Garry Fabian Miller’s third, major exhibition at Arnolfini, his earlier shows being in 1979 and 1997, and we are thrilled to be able to share such an extensive collection of his work with you.
ADORE will also stretch beyond the galleries, with a celebratory ‘festival’ of musicians, filmmakers, writers, poets, and collaborators who have contributed to Fabian Miller’s extraordinary practice, culminating in a rich programme of live events and engagement activity, welcoming Arnolfini’s communities to share the artist’s affirmation of a ‘life well lived’.
The exhibition is accompanied by a new publication ADORE from Arnolfini, featuring images of works in the show and beyond, exploring the many inspirational artists, makers, writers and thinkers that have influenced Garry Fabian Miller’s lengthy career. ADORE contains images of Fabian Miller’s alchemical darkroom and studio nestled in the Dartmoor landscape, with words from Arnolfini Director Gary Topp, Fabian Miller and more.
Designed by Hingston Studio, the book will be available from Arnolfini Bookshop.
Garry Fabian Miller is represented by:
ADORE has been made possible through the generous donations of a Supporters Circle.
Garry Fabian Miller: Adore short film
Spend a while with this beautiful short film about Garry Fabian Miller’s exhibition, Adore, at Arnolfini 19 February to 28 May 2023.
Celebrating a lifetime of practice and inspiration with the Bristol-born photographer ADORE is full of images by Garry Fabian Miller, alongside an unrivalled display of contemporary ceramics, textiles, landscape ephemera and historic materials charting the stories of his creative practice and many compelling areas of interest. This film takes you on a short journey around the exhibition and spends some time with Garry Fabian Miller as well as Jess Bunyan, from Rising Arts Agency, and Gary Topp, executive director at Arnolfini.
Made with care by Ryan, Prince and Tommo of Latent Pictures.
Gallery Guide
We have limited, printed Gallery Guides available so we would really appreciate you leaving them for others when you’re done, or downloading one from here. Many thanks.
In January 2022, Garry Fabian Miller, was awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University. Garry’s Fellowship came as part of the libraries’ increasing commitment to enhancing both the study of photography at the University and public engagement with the field, especially where it relates to material practices.
Garry took part in a lecture series in 2022 and authored an associated publication entitled Dark Room: A Memoir, featuring an essay by celebrated artist and writer Edmund de Waal, to be published in 2023.
From 18 February to 10 September 2023, the National Museum Cardiff hosts The Sea Horizon, an exhibition featuring 40 photographs by Garry Fabian Miller, all made between 1976 to 1977 from the rooftop of the artist’s home in Clevedon, North Somerset. Overlooking the waters of the Severn Estuary towards Wales, the photographs were taken from the same place but at different times of day and under different weather conditions and were part of Fabian Miller’s first solo exhibition at Arnolfini in 1979. More information can be found on their website, www.museum.wales/TheSeaHorizon
Archive Blog
The archive blog is a digital display showing the history of Garry Fabian Miller’s long-established working relationship with Arnolfini. It brings together archive records from the planning and display of Arnolfini’s 1997 exhibition, along with press releases and reviews, and written correspondence that were exchanged between the artist and Arnolfini.
Audio Descriptions and Recordings
About the Artist
Garry Fabian Miller
Garry Fabian Miller (born 1957, Bristol) is one of the most progressive figures in contemporary fine art photography.
ADORE is his third exhibition at Arnolfini in his home city.
