Jon Nicholson: Macchina

9 May - 31 July, 2024

Celebrating the publication of his new photography book of the same title, Nicholson selected more than 20 breathtaking images from the book to show at Aperture Gallery.

Opening with images of road trips on two-lane blacktops crossing the deserts of the USA, it encompasses stock-car racing in Tonopah, Nevada (passing through Goldfield, home to the blind DJ ‘Super Soul’ from the 1971 film Vanishing Point), speed trials on the dry lakes in Utah, drag racing in Southern California, NASCAR racing in South Carolina, and the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. It features a hill climb in the UK, races involving historic machinery around the ramparts of Angoulême and the streets of Monaco, the iconic race around the clock at Le Mans, and of course the incomparable Formula One.

Nicholson was embedded with some of the sport’s legendary teams including Ferrari, McLaren, Stewart and Williams and his archive includes photographs from the tragic weekend at Imola in 1994. The book closes with Nicholson’s haunting image of Ayrton Senna taken at the San Marino Grand Prix just hours before his passing, plus the previously unpublished contact sheets documenting Senna and teammate Damon Hill deep in discussion with engineers ahead of the fateful race.

Macchina chronicles the freedom, excitement, teamwork and poetic essence at the heart of this unique sport. These are the atmospheric images that take you behind the scenes into every aspect of the world of motor sports, from the raw, grass roots energy of banger racing to the spectacular verve and passion of Grand Prix. As such, Macchina is a fascinating social commentary as well as a unique photographic journey.

Nicholson has been granted unprecedented access to leading personalities and events, however his focus as a photographer is never merely on the personalities themselves, but how people prepare for their gladiatorial moments.

All images: © Jon Nicholson 2024

For more details, please download the full press release.

Macchina  by Jon Nicholson Published by Fyshe Limited, May 2024 Printed in Italy by  Conti Tipocolor Limited Edition Book: 1000 copies For more details and orders, please visit the Fyshe website.

Jon Nicholson

Jon Nicholson is a British photographer whose relentless passion for capturing the real story is the driving force behind his images. One side of his fourty year career has been covering sporting personalities or teams within F1, embedding with some of the sports legendary figures including Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill and Lewis Hamilton or the broader world of sport including Chelsea FC and the England rugby team. Jon has also worked in an official capacity at two Olympic Games Barcelona in 1992 and London in 2012. His non-sport work has included long-term engagements with the UN, National Geographic, a book on the North American cowboy and commercial projects for many of the world’s most recognisable brands.  Jon has produced almost 20 books and been exhibited globally. His work now is very much project-based, submerging himself in subjects that interest him personally, of which 'Macchina' is one.

www.jonnicholson.co.uk