Portraits of the Resistance Vol. 6 | Gareth Icke
Broadcaster, Activist and Commentator - Gareth Icke
Gareth Icke. One of the more recognisable names in the sphere of ‘conspiracy theorists’, well, that is besides his father, the legendary and infamous David Icke.
Until 2020 I don’t think I was even aware that David Icke had children, let alone several… Not to mention Ickonic, headed by CEO Jaymie Icke, the groundbreaking online news, documentary and information channel, offering huge amounts of high-quality content for the sceptically minded among us. They even sent a team to report on my debut solo exhibition, showcasing my protest work held in December 2021. More on that in my recent post, including the full video segment here.
He’s intimidatingly good-looking, in a kind of rockstar way, Gareth - In truth, he has always reminded me of the vocalist Chris Cornell, of Soundgarden and Audioslave, for those who followed the US rock scene of the mid-late nineties - tall, dark, sporty and aggressively handsome.
A staunch supporter of the New York Rangers ice hockey team, Gareth isn’t a raving, conspiracy-consumed protagonist many might imagine him to be. He’s confident and self-assured but with a healthy measure of humility, bordering shyness.
I’m invited inside his family home in the UK midlands without hesitation. Like going round to a mate’s place to watch a game, the atmosphere is alive with the sounds of his kids playing and cartoons on the telly. It’s regular and unassuming, ‘normal’ I’d say, whatever that means these days.
Our chat over tea isn’t filled with talk of cabals, evil-doers or the current state of the world. It’s about our respective families, our life experiences, our kids and the cuteness of young life that gives us several shared chuckles as they play in the background, soundtracked by the laughter of our (I think I can be confident in this age-old statement) better halves. It’s a hugely welcome respite from the typical freedom fighter chats, where the who’s-who of the WHO and WEF are cycled through like a book of collectors cards, with the rare ones and lesser known attracting ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahh’s’ of those who hadn’t yet added them to their collection. Gareth asks me about our family - little did I know at that time that in a few short weeks we would be blessed with the knowledge that we’d be expecting a beautiful new life into the team.
We’ve met before. I think at this stage only once on one of the many freedom marches in London, but enough to exchange numbers and emails. A setting where we ultimately end up bumping into each other several times throughout the next year or so.
I didn’t have any idea how I wanted to photograph Gareth, not that I hadn’t been thinking about it, but I figured I’d leave it to chance and see what happened.
We head out of the house on a short drive to one of the many spots nearby that Gareth and the family like to go walking. It’s only October time, but it’s cold and grey…not unusual for the UK I guess. The rain which had besprinkled our drive north in the morning finally ceased, giving way to a crisp and clean afternoon. Not sunny, but bright in the autumn breeze.
We’re joined on our travels by one of his charming children who wanted to join Daddy.
It’s easy to photograph him. Walking and talking, my only directions are an occasional “stop” or '“Can you sit on this fence?” (something Gareth seldom does, metaphorically speaking…).
Gareth is unhurried and, seemingly, just a little self-conscious of being photographed, but warm and friendly. I don’t once get a sense he’s getting tired of taking pictures and when I mention that I’d also like to photograph his father for this series he’s immediately helpful, offering to let him know and help set things up. Only a month later I was heading to the Isle of Wight to meet and photograph David.
It would be easy to assume that Gareth would be somewhat distracted by presenting, researching or by the endless onslaught of media and online personalities against his family. Still, the only sense I get is one of singular focus…his family. He’s a dad and a husband first, everything else seems a distant second. As a father myself, I understand how a tight family can, in fact, rather than being confining or stifling, be a force for liberation and fuel one’s journey into the unknown, like an invisible coat of armour, enveloping a man and steeling him to take on an inhospitable or hostile world.
As the light starts to fade, the evenings drawing in now as they do this time of year, the temperature dropping with thoughts turning to the drive home and, no doubt for Gareth, dinner and family time. We head back to the car after one last picture. I change lenses (to an 85mm prime) and let the shutter go one last time before we leave.
Yeah, this is the one I thought. Iconic…or should that be Ickonic?
For more on Gareths work head to -
And check out the fab Ickonic here -
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Thanks so much Jan! I had a great time with this one. David’s write up and photo coming soon!
Great photography as always Kerry, you capture Gareth perfectly. I’m a great fan of Ickonic. I’ve recently bought David Icke’s first book, it’s amazing that virtually everything he predicted has come true. I’m reading just one chapter at a time as it takes some digesting!