Oasis by Lisa Mark

Photographer: Lisa Mark

The Edge Studios, Toronto

May 22, 2001

"Scanned from the original 35mm negative & printed on museum grade Hahnemühle photographic paper, this portrait of Noel Gallagher was taken when I was just 17 years old. The location was 102.1 The Edge’s Storefront Studio at 228 Yonge Street. Another Toronto landmark now lost to time, 102.1 The Edge was a magical place where music fans like me could go and actually meet our heroes. Having been an Oasis fan since 1996, opportunities like this to watch your musical idols interview and perform acoustic sets in such close quarters were absolutely priceless. On May 22, 2001, Oasis was in town on ’The Tour of Brotherly Love' to play The Molson Amphitheatre with The Black Crowes & Spacehog. Sitting there as a kid of 17, camera in-hand, quite literally looking up to Noel Gallagher himself in front of me. During a commercial break and in between signing autographs for fans, Noel looked at me, leaned back and posed for this photograph, cig in hand. Since then it’s been one of my favourite moments ever captured in all the years I’ve been a professional photographer, and Oasis fan. Fast forward 17 years later to February 2018. After the break-up of Oasis in 2009, Noel Gallagher formed The High Flying Birds and began touring his new material and Oasis classics. I had the extreme luck to sit down and talk with Noel for a bit, and he kindly signed the first 2 of these limited edition prints. The first - 1/50 - is personalized to me and will be treasured forever in my home (Noel wrote - Yes Lisa!! Smoking? Those were the days!! Big <3, Noel Gallagher X). Print 2/50 (as seen here) to be sold at Analogue Gallery is beautifully inscribed ’Noel Gallagher X'. Noel loved hearing about how when I was a kid, Oasis photographer Jill Furmanovsky was my creative idol and was happy to sign this print knowing it would be sold at Analogue Gallery’s Sound Image 2018 show. The best part about our meeting was when Noel sat down to really look at this print. I told him my favourite part of this image is how Toronto had recently made it illegal to smoke indoors, yet there he was smoking away. Nobody dared tell him to put it out at the studio. We laughed about it."

Edition: 50