Portrait photographer confirmed as Inverness College UHI Graduation guest speaker
INFLUENTIAL portrait photographer Brian Griffin has been confirmed as the 2019 Inverness College UHI Graduation guest speaker.
More than 300 students will celebrate graduation with their friends and family at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, on Friday 4th October.
The students are celebrating successful completion of a range of qualifications from higher national certificates and diplomas through to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Brian Griffin, a freelance photographer, film-maker, television commercial and music video film director, was named “the photographer of the decade” by the Guardian Newspaper in 1989, “the most unpredictable and influential British portrait photographer of the last decades” by the British Journal of Photography in 2005 and “one of Britain’s most influential photographers” by the World Photography Organisation in 2015.
The London-based photographer will talk about his eclectic career, from his first job in engineering and factory life in Birmingham at the age of 16, to finding photography as a form of escapism in his 20s and becoming one of the most prolific photographers in the music industry, shooting album covers and publicity shots for the likes of Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode, Iggy Pop and Queen, and working for high-profile advertising clients including British Airways, Smirnoff Vodka and BMW.
He’s exhibited work across the globe, directed commercials and films, and published countless books.
Professor Chris O’Neil, principal and chief executive of Inverness College UHI, said: “It is with great pleasure I welcome Brian Griffin to Inverness College UHI Graduation to share his remarkable story with students, from ordinary beginnings working in a factory to an extra-ordinary career spanning decades in a highly competitive industry. His devotion to art and creativity has resulted in the most remarkable pieces of work and I’m delighted he’s chosen to share those experiences and life learning with our students as they set out on their next chapter.”
Students will be joined by teaching staff, friends and family for the Inverness College UHI Graduation, which takes place over two ceremonies to accommodate the large number of graduates.
Students graduating from courses within the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business graduate at 10.30am, with a ceremony for the Faculty of Science, Health and Engineering following at 1.30pm.