The Bigger Picture

Albanian Bathers, 2006 © Tom Craig

From Svalbard to Chad, photographer Tom Craig and writer A.A. Gill have travelled together on assignments across four continents in the last eight years. Flaere Gallery, in association with Quintessentially, brings together 20 unseen photographs by Tom Craig with accompanying text by A.A. Gill.

On their travels, the two connect the dots between disparate worlds - from life on a North Sea trawler to the glaciers of Greenland; encountering Tasmanian devils, Haitian hotspots and cricket matches on the streets of St Paul’s. Days are punctuated by conversations about experiences past and present: “Why is that Eskimo so drunk? Is that marsupial carnivorous? Are countries at war more successful fuelled on a diet of wheat or rice? Is that a bat in your curry?”

In his writing, A.A. Gill often alights on the modest object, fact or observation and through it unfolds a story that speaks volubly about that place in that time. Tom Craig’s photographs create the visual counterpoint, exposing the essence of people and places they come across.

This is a personal story told twice; a collaboration between a writer and a photographer that demonstrates how two perspectives and two media tell a different story from the same scene - and how together they make the narrative so much the richer.

“The one thing words and pictures have in common is that their craft is all in the editing. Out of the streaming confusion of information and images, we have to sift and select the things that make a cogent, coherent, engaging plot...

...What is happening just outside the picture are the words. And when we get it right, the image and the writing, when they come together, they make something that is greater than their binary parts. They’re not illustrations or captions, but a tandem, complimentary work, without repetition or duplication." A.A. Gill

VIEW EXHIBITION

On 1st March, The Frontline Club, Paddington will host a discussion with Tom Craig and A.A. Gill as advocates for the collaboration of a photographer and writer and its importance for the future of photojournalism.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Tom Craig is a British photographer whose work presents a contemporary spectrum of lives encountered across different cultures. The composition and light throughout his images fuse acute observations with his very own personal aesthetic. Tom is the author and photographer of the acclaimed book “Writing on the Edge” where he brought together an incredible group of individuals with whom he travelled to war-torn countries. These trips included journeys to The Gaza strip with Daniel Day-Lewis, Uzbekistan with Danny Boyle, Colombia with Martin Amis and the Congo with Joanne Harris. The book documented the frontline work of the Nobel peace prize winning humanitarians, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). One of the world’s most in-demand photographers, Tom has shot multiple covers for Vogue magazine with his work appearing regularly in numerous UK and US publications. Among other current projects, he writes and shoots a weekly photography column “Snapshot” in The Sunday Times Style Magazine.

A.A. Gill is a writer and critic whose acerbic views on travel, television, and food are among the most widely read in Britain. He is the author of 10 books and collections of his extensive travels around the globe, most recently "A.A. Gill is Further Away" and "Previous Convictions: Assignments from Here and There."

Flaere Gallery (www.flaere.com) is a fine art photography gallery specialising in contemporary photography with an international stable of artists.

The Frontline Club (www.frontlineclub.com) is the London hub for a diverse group of people united by their passion for the best quality journalism. It is home to over 200 talks and screenings a year. To book tickets for the Frontline discussion please go direct to www.frontlineclub/events/

Quintessentially (www.quintessentially.com) is the leading international luxury lifestyle company. Started in 2000 as a small London based concierge service, Quintessentially has experienced a complete transformation in a decade, and currently have offices in over 60 cities around the world. The service provided to their discerning and HNW members is proactive and personalised, catering to every member's need, from last minute restaurant bookings, travel arrangements, and access to private parties, as well as fulfilling every unusual request and successfully connecting businesses all over the world. Quintessentially can offer access to the inaccessible and can make the seemingly impossible, possible. In a bid to ensure only the very best service is delivered across the luxury market, Quintessentially has also launched 32 luxury sister businesses comprised of experts in every luxury division. This includes real estate, travel, luxury retail, wine, art, flowers, private aviation and more (www.quintessentiallygroup.com).

Boucheron (www.boucheron.com) A dynasty of French jewellers, founded by Frédéric Boucheron in 1858, established the Maison across four generations of the founder's direct descendants. Today, Boucheron pursues its international development with its characteristic boldness, elegance and panache. With a myriad of clients including film stars, authors, artists, maharajahs and renowned aficionados, the Maison Boucheron – which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008 - holds particular appeal for those whose celebrity and status find a match in its magnificent creations, be it for jewellry or watches. With the magical ease of a true artist, Place Vendôme's master jeweller selects and combines precious stones from an extensive palette of flamboyant colors, amongst the world's rarest and most desirable gems. With its free spirited and audacious designs, the Maison Boucheron constantly reinvents the timeless essence of unique elegance. Boucheron is owned by PPR, a worldwide leading luxury and lifestyle group. Shares in PPR are traded on the Euronext Paris (#121485,PRTP.PA PPFP).

Spectrum (www.spectrumphoto.co.uk) are a professional lab providing quality services from archival photographic and giclee printing to museum quality mounting and framing. Established in 1993 Spectrum has grown into one of the UK's leading photographic printing and finishing centres, used by many successful photographers around the world. Our ethos is to provide everything needed to take your exhibition from start to finish, giving piece of mind that each integral part is produced under one roof. Our work has been exhibited in art galleries and museums all over the world and we are proud of the reputation we have established for quality with excellent service.

Lot18 UK (www.lot18.co.uk) Following its success in America, New York-based company Lot18 is launching in the UK at the beginning of March. The members-only e-commerce website gives consumers exclusive access to rare and hard-to-find wines at attractive prices. Founded in 2010 by Kevin Fortuna and British-born Philip James, Lot18 has changed the way Americans buy wine after just 14 months of operations. Lot18 connects its members with limited-time opportunities to purchase directly from wineries; each product on Lot18 is individually evaluated for quality by Lot18's team of experts. The co-owners aspire to achieve the same success in the UK through a combination of technology, education and experience, revolutionising the way Brits buy wine.

De’Longhi (www.delonghi.co.uk), expert in premium coffee machines, allows you to create authentic Italian style coffee in the comfort of your home. The brand is synonymous with high quality, innovative and stylish products that complement beautiful and state of the art kitchens. De’Longhi is also a patron of the arts, and will be hosting the sixth Macmillan De’Longhi Art Auction this year.

Modus Furniture (www.modusfurniture.co.uk) Established in 2000, Modus Furniture is an award-winning British furniture manufacturer dedicated to producing the very best in contemporary international design. The company works with both internationally acclaimed designers and emerging young talent to produce high quality, covetable pieces for both domestic and contract use. Using the finest manufacturing processes and working with a broad spectrum of materials, Modus is committed to producing inspired, functional pieces of the highest quality.

Domaine de La Perdrix (www.domaine-perdrix.net) Nested in the foothills of the Pyrenees, overhanging the coastal plain of Roussillon, the Domaine de la Perdrix grows over 110 acres of wine grapes on the rural district of Trouillas, located between the city of Perpignan and the spanish border. Established in the 1820s, the family estate vineyard is today managed by Virginie and André Gil.