An exhibition showcasing iconic images of artists including Billy Idol, Ultravox, Siouxsie Sioux and more will go on display at the Crescent Gallery, Belfast, as part of the 2018 Belfast Photo Festival Compact, in association with Quilter Cheviot Investment Management.

POP by Brian Griffin, which runs from June 17-27, features a selection of both studio and location images from Brian’s personal collection, many of which are rare vintage prints captured prior to the digital age of photography when technical proficiency and ingenuity was a must, whether it was twanging knicker elastic to create shafts of light or producing an album cover – front, back and inner sleeve – on a shoestring budget of less than one pound.

For a decade between the late 1970s though the 1980s, Brian was a highly sought-after photographer for record labels, band managers and artists themselves, all scrambling to book him to produce eye-catching album covers, single bags and publicity shots.

The exhibition features work for artists such as: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Echo and the Bunnymen, Mari Wilson and The Wilsations, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, King Sunny Adé, Psychedelic Furs and more.

On Saturday, June 16, Brian will also take part in the festival’s music symposium at The Crescent discussing his exhibition, POP, and his career-defining aesthetic that epitomises 80s pop and rock photography.

Known previously as Belfast Photo Festival Youth Edition, the biennial event, last held in 2016, has been rebranded to Belfast Photo Festival Compact, a condensed festival format which includes a programme of workshops, seminars, exhibitions, tours and screenings.

Belfast Photo Festival Compact is supported by National Lottery funding through Arts Council Northern Ireland, Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, Belfast City Council and Alexander Boyd Displays.

For more information on this year’s festival, visit www.belfastphotofestival.com and keep up to date on social media via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.