In April 2023 Oisin Rogers asked me to shoot publicity headshots for his new pub venture. He was reopening the 250-year-old Devonshire in London’s Soho with restaurateur Charlie Carroll and former Fat Duck Head Chef, Ashley Palmer Watts - the hospitality version of a Supergroup.
I realised the rip-out and refurbishment presented a unique photographic opportunity. Rogers initially said no, but I convinced him with some early documentary-style images. Embedding myself with his army of builders (while trying not to get in their way) I photographed them weekly for six months.
Shooting on the hoof and using only available light to capture the interior fabric of the building in transformation, I worked in this challenging and rapidly changing hard-hat environment - deliberately overexposing the windows to remove distracting exterior details.
These images have appeared in the FT, London Evening Standard, Irish Times and GQ. The panel also now hangs in The Devonshire.
