rab lewin: foreign despondent

A retrospective of works by Sunart-based photographer Rab Lewin featuring a selection of images from his unique archive of documentary photography. From abandoned nuclear power stations, to iconic music photography, to a small town uprising in Spain, each image provides a window into a unique time and place. Having lived in many countries throughout the world, his works document a life lived, rather than purely observed.

Born in New South Wales, Australia, neurodivergent photographer Rab Lewin’s roots lie firmly in the Scottish Highlands. His family returned to their ancestral home in the West Highlands during his youth, instilling in him a deep connection to the region. In 1985, a multimedia course in Edinburgh sparked his lifelong passion for photography. This medium proved ideal for his inherently nomadic spirit, allowing him to capture the world as he moved through it. 

His documentary style photography has been featured in prestigious publications such as Vice, the Smithsonian Institute, and Billboard Magazine, capturing everything from underground music scenes to social movements. He has also contributed to notable books, including Ted Polhemus’s Streetstyle (2nd Edition) and, more recently, lent his expertise in vintage photographic restoration to Ian Chapman’s OK Boomer: New Zealand in the Swinging Sixties. In 2021, Resipole Studios published his first solo work, Off Limits: Berlin-Europe 1992-96, a powerful social document of the free techno party movement. Further cementing his legacy, his photography is featured in a permanent open-air exhibition at the East Side Gallery in Berlin, in collaboration with the Berlin Wall Foundation.