Stephen Champion

Stephen Champion was born in Worcester, United Kingdom and grew up on a traditional mixed farm in a very rural environment in Surrey. He was just seventeen and a recently expelled student, when his sister lent him his very first plastic film ‘instamatic’ camera to take along for his travels around Africa, Europe, the US and Central America.

In pursuit of his new found passion, once Stephen returned to the UK, he set up a darkroom at the age of eighteen. He went on to study photography and film at the Arts Institute Bournemouth in1979, under the instruction of the legendary Tony Maestri and colourful tutors Paul Blatchford, Chris Fassnidge and Michael Eldridge. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and later got his Master of Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute (1984).

While in San Francisco, Stephen exhibited his works locally and served his teaching internship with Larry Sultan and his gallery internship at Camerawork Gallery. He was surrounded by some very brilliant Artists; painters, sculptors, film makers, photographers, video and performance makers and Artists of all genres under the one umbrella of Art, that he says is an influence that has never left him.

Stephen has worked as a freelance portrait photographer in London from the early 1980’s. From 1986 onward, he started to develop new works in Sri Lanka. His Sri Lankan photographs have appeared worldwide in magazines, academic research papers, newspapers, television and film productions, books and exhibitions. His work has been published by the Blitz magazine, the New Socialist, BBC, Ch4, Face magazine, the Telegraph, the Times, Blueprint, Conde Nast, ICRC, International Alert, British Journal of Photography, Black and White magazine, the Sunday Times London, Sunday Times Sri Lanka, Observer Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka Daily News, Ravaya Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Airlines among others.

Stephen Champion has been a visiting lecturer at Bournemouth Arts Institute, University of Wales and the Royal College of Art.

In 2013 the Brunei Gallery hosted his first retrospective exhibition at SOAS, London, where a broad range of his work was shown. He has exhibited internationally; chiefly in Sri Lanka, UK, USA and Europe. His work is retained in both public and private collections.

Stephen Champion has completed three books that have been published. Lanka (1986-1992), War Stories (2008) and Dharmadeepa: Island of Balance is his latest book published in 2009. The works are very diverse observations of conflict, landscape, the changing environment, portraits and yesteryear’s village culture. More recently, Stephen has been realising photographs for two new books; Lanka Portrait and Lanka Colours of Change. The photographs for Tonight No Poetry Will Serve are chosen from these collections.

Stephen Champion lives and works in both Kandy, Sri Lanka and Lewes in the UK.

We are all responsible for the refuse that we create and for sickness and diluted environments that we have encouraged worldwide and the legacy that leaves for our children. My wish is that many will contribute and care for this very worthy cause; the Cancer Fund for Galle’s Palliative Care Unit.