Edna O Brien, London, 1991 © Steve Pyke

Steve Pyke is a renowned photographer known for his intimate and intense black-and-white portraits of extraordinary thinkers, creators, and artists of our time. Pyke created his first photographs in Ireland in 1980 and has maintained a deep, ongoing association with a place central to the development of his artistic practice. Widely hailed as a classic landmark ‘photographic novel’ I Could Read the Sky, created with the writer Timothy O’Grady, was first published in 1997. In 2024, it was reissued in a new, expanded edition by Unbound.

Pyke has spent the last 40 years seeing the world through a creative lens. Born in Leicester, UK, Pyke resided in London and NYC for many years. Steve now lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana and continues to work in Ireland and internationally. His work has been exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, Japan, Mexico and the US and is held in many permanent collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the V&A in London, New York Public Library and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Oxford. A selection of works from his I Could Read the Sky series was acquired in 2024 for the Photo Museum Ireland collection. He is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Photo Museum Ireland in 2025.

This exhibition is dedicated to Seán Rocks, a celebrated champion of Irish arts who passed away in July 2025.

Seán was a great supporter of Irish Photography throughout the years while at the helm of the RTÉ Radio 1 Arts Show Arena. A gifted broadcaster and advocate for the arts, he interviewed Steve Pyke in 2023 and highlighted some of the great stories in Irish and International photography. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Special thanks to Joe Gannon; Anthony Farrell, Stephen Reid, and the team at The Lilliput Press; and Niall McCormack at HiTone Design for their dedication to making this exhibition and photobook possible.

Education Resource for Young People

Get more out of your visit to the Scribendi exhibition with our Education Resource Pack, designed especially for teenagers and young people.

This downloadable mobile-friendly PDF is filled with creative activities, thought-provoking questions, and ideas to help you explore the exhibition in your own way—whether you’re visiting with your class, youth group, or independently.