Celebrity photographer Lucy Sewill creates inspiring exhibition after her love of horses helped her to diagnose illness

Lucy Sewill's understanding of Cushing's Disease came from losing one of her beloved horses to the illness
1/11

Take a celebrity photographer, a life-threatening illness and horse whisperer Monty Roberts and you have the makings of a fascinating new exhibition.

Lucy Sewill has spent her life capturing famous faces – from Boris Johnson to Ed Sheeran and Terry Wogan – but had, until recently, increasingly struggled to recognise herself in the mirror.

Lucy – whose work has hung in the National Portrait Gallery - was convinced she had the potentially fatal Cushing's Disease because her beloved horse died of the condition.

Recognising some of the symptoms of Cushing's disease, which is caused by the overproduction of hormones and leaves some sufferers, like Lucy, with a changed face shape, she had herself diagnosed.

Doctors discovered Lucy had a tumour on her pituitary gland which was causing the problems and she underwent brain surgery. She may require further treatment and needs daily medication for the rest of her life.

The whole experience prompted Lucy to question identity and to want to explore more closely the bond between humans and horses that led her to diagnose her illness.

Lucy says: “Cushing's is a potentially fatal disease and although you can’t catch Cushing’s, some symptoms are the same in horses and humans

“I became convinced from observing my horse who had Cushing’s that I too had the disease. It was just a matter of convincing the doctors - who were very skeptical - I was diagnosing myself based on an illness my horse had.”

Latest exhibition reviews

1/16

Lucy – an experienced horsewoman who has three horses – decided to turn her lens on the animals she loves most to create the book, Horses and Humans. The exhibition is a selection of photography from the book, which takes the observer on a fascinating journey exploring the connection a variety of people – from an equine vet to a jockey and a Household Cavalry officer – have with their horses.

"Horses have always been pivotal to my life and, as I discovered through this project, they are in many other people’s lives too," says Lucy.

The foreword to the book is written by real-life horse whisperer and friend of the Queen, Monty Roberts, who has spent years examining this mystical bond and features in Lucy’s photographs.

As he says: “Lucy is not simply a photographer. She is a student of horses and the equine thought processes that create personalities within the behavioural patterns of Equus, the flight animal.”

The exhibition, at the Upstart Gallery, is a collaboration with sculptor Heather Jansch, former wife of the late singer Bert. Heather is renowned internationally for her driftwood horse pieces that have been on display most recently at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Lucy's career as a portrait photographer began when she was invited to shoot a then unknown Ed Sheeran after meeting him at a music festival. Horses and Humans is her second book.

Horses and Humans is on at the Upstart Gallery, 161 Lower Richmond Road Putney, SW15 1HH, until January 28th, 2017. The book can be purchased here

Visit standard.co.uk/arts for the latest news and reviews from London’s arts scene

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in