How did you begin your photographic journey, and what led you into portraiture?
As a Fine Arts student at the University of East Anglia, I initially believed I would become a painter. Over time, I discovered a deep passion for photography — though one day, I would love to return to painting. At 18, I moved to London to assist established photographers, exploring still life and landscapes. However, I missed the human connection. That longing drew me toward fashion photography and ultimately led me to the intimacy of portraiture.
You’ve captured celebrities in emotional states, even crying or laughing. How do you coax such vulnerability?
In 1997, during an interview with Eddie Izzard, I asked if I could photograph him crying. He resisted at first, but through genuine conversation, he let his guard down, and we captured something real. So much so, he cherished it and displayed the portrait in his home. Actors, by nature, are adept at inhabiting other personas; it often takes deliberate reassurance to invite them back to themselves. Similarly, such emotional honesty allows personalities to emerge authentically in portraits. The same happened with Thandiwe Newton, whom I photographed laughing in the same shoot. When people are such great actors, they can switch emotions so easily; in fact, they’re so used to being someone else than themselves that it takes some convincing to get them to show who they really are in portraits. The London National Portrait Gallery commissioned this shoot.
You have portraits of Kate Winslet and David Beckham in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Did you anticipate their lasting resonance?
I aim to evoke a sense of classical beauty grounded in genuine presence. Those portraits of Kate Winslet and David Beckham were taken early in their careers, and that immediacy is special. Interestingly, the Becks portrait with hair over his face became the gallery’s top-selling postcard, so yes — it worked! The 22-year-old footballer who had just started dating a Spice Girl and who was world-renowned for his ever-changing hairstyles as well as his talent in football. So much so that I convinced him to photograph his hair and not his face.
Do you prefer studio sessions or on-location shoots?
Each offers unique strengths. On location, you benefit from the unpredictability and natural light; the studio, on the other hand, grants control and precision. I adapt to the environment to capture something meaningful. For instance, a shoot with Jake Gyllenhaal in Malibu was unexpectedly rained out — yet that unpredictability became part of the image. Another shoot with Tilda Swinton in Edinburgh yielded evocative photos in three different outfits during sunset — sometimes the magic just unfolds.
How would you describe your photographic voice and style?
I strive to evoke emotion — whether entertaining, provoking, or connecting. My images aim to be iconic yet human, enabling viewers to see celebrities as real individuals, not distant icons. That drive informs the exhibition’s title, “LOOK AT ME”.
What does your first exhibition in Malta mean to you
Despite being born to Maltese parents in the UK, I never felt as deeply connected to Malta as I do now. My first meaningful visit — at age 14, accompanied by my father — sparked recognition of familial ties, yet did not fully awaken the connection I was to rediscover later. I associated Malta with tragedy. I knew about the tragic loss of my paternal grandparents during World War II — when a British plane crashed onto their home in 1940, killing them in their sleep. This first retrospective exhibition, at Spazju Kreattiv, signifies a heartfelt reconnection — not just with my history, but with Malta’s creative community — truly a homecoming in every sense.
My true reconnection to Malta began after engaging in conversations with Francesca Balzan through her Treasures from Malta blog, and later as we talked [Ed: that’s Agius and curator Professor Charlene Vella] about the concept of an exhibition in Malta. I started visiting the island more frequently. These visits revealed a connection I had once thought missing. The upcoming retrospective at Spazju Kreattiv now serves as both a personal act of reconnection and a public unveiling of my family’s history — detailing how and when my father left Malta. The research of Kim Dalli and Chrisallo Borg has illuminated the fate of my aunts and uncles, orphaned by the tragedy that claimed their parents. I am honoured that some of my cousins in Malta will join me in celebrating how, against such odds, our family’s lives endured and flourished.
Lorenzo Agius’s exhibition ‘LOOK AT ME: Framing the Iconic’ will be open until 2 November at Spazju Ċ, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta. Opening Hours: open every day except for Mondays, 9 am to 9 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 9 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and feast days.
This exhibition is part of the Spazju Kreattiv programme 2025-2026 and is being made possible thanks to the collaboration of several entities: V&C Contractors, Zammit Pace Advocates, Mather & CO, Malta Film Commission, The Phoenicia Malta, Visit Malta, Corinthia Group, KM Malta Airlines, Studjurban, Mather & Co, iLAB Photo Ltd.