Chelsea and Westminster doctor stars in major public photography exhibition

Photo: Mr El-Refaey as he appears in The Photographers’ Gallery (credit: Paul Floyd Blake)

Hazem El-Refaey, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, is starring in a major new public art project initiated by The Photographers’ Gallery to coincide with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

His photograph is now emblazoned across a large-scale poster on Oxford Street at the culmination of the project which set out to commission 204 photographic portraits of 204 Londoners, each originating from one of the nations competing at the London Games Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mr El-Refaey was born in Egypt and, after graduating from Cairo University, he has spent all his working life as a doctor in the UK.

Photographer Paul Floyd Blake says: “I was asked to participate in the project and chose Egypt because of family links.

“My partner’s father grew up in Egypt and he told us about this extraordinary doctor and his political involvement in trying to change things in Egypt, as well as his groundbreaking medical research which has benefited many people around the world.

“It was a delight to meet and talk with him, visit him at work and at his home and I feel that I have made a real friend into the bargain.”

Brett Rogers, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery said: As London’s premier institution for photography, we are proud to have initiated a project that engages with the cultural diversity of London at the same time as celebrating photography as one of the most powerful visual mediums of the 21st century.

“Commissioning such a variety of photographers has offered us an unrivalled opportunity to highlight the creative potential of the portrait genre.”