On the 7th – 9th of February, the acclaimed fashion photographer Rhys Frampton, principal Royal Ballet dancer Matthew Ball, and legendary songwriter and musician Guy Chambers will launch a FREE multi-sensory exhibition in Peckham – retelling the timeless Greek myth of the Fall of Icarus.
Titled ‘Drowning Light’, the exhibition reimagines the myth as a multi-disciplinary art display – bringing together photography, dance, video, and a hauntingly beautiful music score composed especially for the exhibition.
The showcase features monochromatic photography capturing Icarus, portrayed and choreographed by Matthew Ball, following the story of the protagonist from its start, all the way to its tragic end.
‘Myths help us humans to make sense of our place in the world and have long offered fertile ground for inspiration, exploration, and challenging our ways of thinking.’ says Rhys Frampton.
The Fall of Icarus, the ultimate cautionary tale of hubris and nemesis, is one of the most well-known from ancient Greek mythology and most famously told in the works of the Roman poet Ovid. Recounted for centuries, it tells the story of the son of inventor Daedalus, who did not heed his father’s advice and instead reached too far and flew too close to the sun wearing his wings made of wax and feathers. The wings melted. He fell to earth. It is a story of ambition and arrogance, vulnerability and descent, and the fall of ego – and it is a story as relevant today as it was centuries ago.
Now, in 2025, the story has been brought to life once more by a collaborative team of leading creatives who will be working together to reinterpret the myth for the very first time.
In this modern-day storytelling, Icarus does not wear literal ‘wings’. Instead, Matthew preferred to bring the ideaof them alive through his body with growth of his wings communicated through the flutter of his limbs. His dance is accompanied by one simple object: a feather.
The process of capturing the images of the unfolding tale involved an analogue rather than a digital camera and felt less like a traditional shoot and more like ‘a dance with the camera’ says Rhys, who instinctively knew where Matthew’s movements would take him.
The resulting stills have been enriched with tonal depths reminiscent of Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro effects – further emphasising the idea of sunlight and shadow, both literal and metaphorical – by designer Pete Guest who worked his magic in the darkroom, before the final selection from dozens of potential images for publication was made by designer Jmeel Allen.
These remarkable images will be displayed as a free exhibition at the contemporary art space Copeland Gallery in the heart of Peckham’s cultural quarter from the 7th – 9th February ahead of the official book launch of Drowning Light, due to be published early March.
Far more than a traditional static exhibition, it will be a fully immersive experience featuring video art capturing Matthew’s dance and choreography, projected in the art space together with a hauntingly beautiful score composed especially for this one-of-a-kind collaboration by the legendary musician Guy Chambers which he has composed for piano, saxophone, and cello.
