Celeb’s teddy bears snapped for exhibition

Bono and Miriam O’Callaghan were among those who had soft toys photographed for an exhibition, writes Richard Fitzpatrick

THE photographer Mark Nixon couldn’t stop looking at the way his baby son Calum played with his teddy bear, Peter the Rabbit — the way he squeezed it with delight, and how he’d nuzzle it with his nose when he sucked his thumb.

Calum couldn’t sleep without it, and when all his other soft toys were retired to the attic in a black bag, Peter the Rabbit, which had been given to him by his 99-year-old great-grandmother, was still in service. Nixon photographed Peter the Rabbit in late 2009, and from there a project grew and grew.