Join iconic music photographer Jill Furmanovsky at Lucy Bell Gallery on September 25th from 6-8 PM for a special signing of her new book, OASIS: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere

Gallery Open Thursday-Sunday 11am-4pm

The great wait is over. This summer Oasis will finally reunite for their Live ’25 World Tour, more than 30 years after the release of their ground-breaking debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’. To mark this momentous occasion Rockarchive.com and the Lucy Bell Gallery are delighted to present their latest exhibition Jill Furmanovsky: Oasis 1994-2009.

Jill Furmanovsky’s photographs captured the band’s rapid ascent to become the biggest cultural phenomenon in Britain for years. The photographs in this extensive exhibition chronicle their glory years, capturing live performances, recording sessions, time on the road, behind the scenes and provide a visual diary of that incredible period.

Jill took her first pictures of Oasis at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in December 1994 and soon after became their unofficial photographer. Over the next 15 years she was responsible for the most loved and iconic images of the band. Highlights in the exhibition include classic shots of Oasis off and onstage at their legendary Knebworth gigs in 1996, photographs taken during their Wonderwall video shoot in 1995, candid images shot during the album recordings of ‘Be Here Now’ and ‘Heathen Chemistry’ and their last ‘own’ gig at Bridlington just a week before they split up in Paris.

The exhibition period will also coincide with the launch of Jill’s latest book. Oasis: Trying to Find a Way out of Nowhere  by Jill Furmanovsky and Noel Gallagher is published by Thames & Hudson on 23^rd September and available to pre-order now.

Jill Furmanovsky: Oasis 1994-2009 Exhibition is at the Lucy Bell Gallery, St Leonards-on-Sea from 10th  July – 28th September 2025.

Jill Furmanovsky Biography:

Jill Furmanovsky, born in 1953 in what was then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), is one of the most influential rock photographers of the past fifty years. After moving to London in 1965, she became enthralled by the city’s vibrant music scene and took up photography, soon becoming the official photographer for the Rainbow Theatre, where she captured icons such as Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin.

Over the decades, her intimate and humanising portraits helped define how the world viewed its musical heroes.

Furmanovsky began photographing Oasis during their meteoric rise in the mid-1990s, just after the  release of Definitely Maybe. She quickly became the band’s “unofficial official” photographer, travelling with them on tour and capturing some of their most iconic moments both on and off stage.  “Noel clearly understood the power of not so much image as imagery,” she recalled. “I was hired, on an unofficially official non-contract basis.”

Her work chronicled the full chaos and glory of Oasis at their peak. Jill’s photographs are revered not just for their style but for the trust and intimacy they reveal. Liam Gallagher, whom she called “the most  typically rock and roll person,” was endlessly photogenic and unfiltered, perfectly suited to Furmanovsky’s documentary style.

Noel, reflecting on their long friendship at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards in 2024, said, “She’s a very, very dear friend of mine… I can only say that she is as lovely as she seems, she’s one of my best friends, and I adore her… the best photographer ever.”

Beyond Oasis, Furmanovsky has had an extraordinary career, photographing everyone from Chrissie Hynde to Joy Division. In 1998, she founded Rockarchive to preserve the work of music photographers, and her books, such as Was There Then (1997) and Oasis at Knebworth (2021), have become fan favourites.

Her 2023 exhibition Photographing the Invisible received critical acclaim, and a documentary about her life, The Invisible Photographer, is set to premiere in 2025.

Through all of this, Jill Furmanovsky has remained true to her philosophy: to capture musicians not as idols, but as people. Her work with Oasis stands as a powerful testament to that approach. Her lens caught not just the swagger and spectacle, but the grit, humour, and human drama of a band riding a comet.

Lucy Bell Gallery
46 Norman Road
St. Leonards-on-Sea
TN38 0EJ

Open:
Thursday 11am-4pm
Friday 11am-4pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 11am-4pm

Closed: Monday-Wednesday