PETER ROBINSON: ‘DOUBLE VISION’

Peter Robinson is arguably the greatest living football photographer. Don't just take our word for it, that’s a quote from The New York Times. Robinson shaped the way modern football photography looks, but, for someone so influential and important, he has remained largely uncelebrated. OOF's big summer exhibition aims to go some way towards fixing that, with a survey of his 60-plus year career documenting world football from the lower leagues to the very highest level.

'Double Vision', OOF's first major photography show since Martin Parr in 2022, splits Robinson's work into a series of themed sections, including a journey through the psychology of a penalty shootout from pop star Diana Ross to Sir Bobby Robson, caught at the exact moment England were knocked out of Italia '90. From players feigning injury to hastily drawn shirt numbers, to see football through Robinson’s eyes is to see football anew. 

Starting out working for the Football League Review, a publication based in his native Leicester, Robinson’s eye for the striking, the dramatic and, often, the unusual, led him to cover a staggering thirteen World Cup tournaments, working as FIFA's official photographer for over twenty years. He had a knack for spotting the truly fascinating stuff happening away from the on-field action, finding charm, humour, incongruities and clever juxtapositions that elevate his work beyond mere football photography. Robinson watched the watchers, he centred spectators and police officers and groundskeepers, he found another way of looking at what everyone has already seen.

That’s not to say he missed iconic moments. He was there when Maradona miraculously performed the Hand of God, he was there when the Liverpool FA Cup final squad donned their pristine white Armani suits, he was there when the great Bill Nicholson held open the gates to White Hart Lane. He saw it all, and so much more.

Show runs until 31 August at OOF Gallery, N17.

Opening Sunday 8 June from 12-4:00 pm

Admission is free. Use entrance for the Tottenham Experience at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Open Mon, Thu, Fri 10-5. Sat 11-5, Sun 12-4. Closed Tue & Wed.