By: Daniel Melfi –
Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood’s new photography exhibition, Reflections, will open on October 17 at Liss Gallery.
Yesterday, Fleetwood Mac co-founder and drummer, Mick Fleetwood debuted his new collection of photographs entitled, Reflections, at Liss Gallery on Yorkville Avenue in Toronto.
Well known as a drummer, photography has attained something inaccessible by music, says Fleetwood. “It has opened a door of creativity in a way,” many of his photos are of Maui, Hawaii—his new home. “It has become a really interesting vehicle for me,” says Fleetwood, “It’s fun!”
His exploits in art differ than those on stage, “[Fleetwood Mac] does a lot of things, but it doesn’t do this,” says Fleetwood, “This is me.”
“There are no thigh shots of women,” says the Englishman, “I feel like some people may expect that from an old rock n’ roll band member.” The photos on display range from those of his mother’s old home in England, to his new backyard in Hawaii. “This is how I say hello, this is what I do,” says Fleetwood.
Many people in the gallery seem slightly star-struck, having been present during the band’s heights of fame in the ‘70s and ‘80s; taking a look around the gallery some
reporters are sneaking in a photo with the drummer that is less work related than they might try to explain.
“There is a tempo here,” says Fleetwood, “This is the direction I’m going in, until I become ‘The Wild Artiste,’” he says in a chuckle. However, he has not been taking photos as long as he has been playing music. “John McVie really introduced me to photography,” he says, “and now, it probably has a lot more power to it than I even realize standing here.”
Across the wall of the gallery is a stencilled quote, “Play on. Two words, no more, but they’ve said it all for me.” Fleetwood describes his art by saying, “This is as close as I get to writing a song.” He says, “We all have a story to tell in our work—that’s personal.”
The themes in his photos, according to the descriptions beside them, as well as his own words, are rooted in the journey. “They really have a passion and a care for their ancestry [in Maui],” he says, “It’s something I explored when my mother left her old home in England, frankly, knowing she wouldn’t be back.”
The passion in Fleetwood’s voice is clear as he speaks about his family and his photography. “There is a momentum we’ve created now,” says Fleetwood, “There are a series of shots [in Maui] that I haven’t taken yet but I will.” He goes on, “I know exactly where they are, I have been intending on it for a while and now I will go shoot them.”
The conversation shifts from photography to music as Fleetwood has a laugh, “I don’t like sitting around, I will do crazy things like open a restaurant or make shoes; if the band is not playing I will go out and play,” says Fleetwood, “In that sense, I haven’t changed.
The exhibition will continue Friday night, October 17, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. for the public, before Fleetwood Mac’s show at the Air Canada Centre Saturday night.
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