Lost in Rust

Lost in Rust is a solo exhibition by world-renowned British photographer Gered Mankowitz, presenting a deeply personal body of work created over many years. Best known for some of the most enduring photographs in the history of rock and roll, Mankowitz turns his attention here to a quieter subject: the unexpected beauty found in objects transformed by time, weather and use. The series began with a discarded, rusting padlock discovered in the garden of his father’s studio in the southwest of Ireland. Fascinated by its colour, texture and gradual decay, Mankowitz began collecting weathered objects and experimenting with ways to photograph them on a monumental scale. Isolated from their original context, these once-functional objects become extraordinary studies of colour, texture and form. Rust takes on an almost painterly quality, revealing intricate surfaces created not by the artist’s hand, but through the passage of time and the effects of nature. Lost in Rust invites us to look more closely at the familiar and reconsider ideas of beauty, value and permanence, celebrating the remarkable transformations that occur as materials age. The exhibition opens at NoonPowell Fine Art on 16 October 2026, with a Private View on Thursday 15 October, 7–9pm.