‘Back In the Dazed: Rankin 1991-2001”, celebrates stand-out imagery from over 200 editorial shoots by Rankin for his magazine Dazed & Confused. On display since May 28th and because of the response, has been extended to July 7th., 180 Studios, London. Tickets available from 180studios.com/rankin. All photos by RANKIN. (top row L to R: Photo of Rankin, XVI Silver Ladies 10×12, Roy Brown, Emperor’s New Clothes / Row 2: Changing Faces 16×20, Circle Line 20×24, IV Weep 36×48 / Bottom photo: Mirren Mirren On The Wall)
Among the great shots to check out!
Björk
It was me on my own with Björk, because I couldn’t afford an assistant. We were out on the street while she was doing a gig in upstate New York. I had myself, a reflector, a small flash, my camera, and some film. That was it. It was very windy – suddenly, the wind hit her and swept her hair across her face. I think most famous people who are used to being photographed would immediately put their hand up and move it away, but because it was her, she didn’t do that. She just let it go. I’ve got so much respect for her because she gave me a lot of confidence about being myself.
Jarvis Cocker
GoldieGoldie is a force of nature. Every time I worked with him, was special. Like a whirlwind.That is a photographers dream! He’s so mazing to photograph, because he gets it and really collaborates to make it incredible.But this one is kind of brilliant, because it’s a stillness with that whirlwind on pause for a fraction of a second. He’s still one of the best people to get 5 minutes with, as he’s like taking a positivity pill.
ROYRoy was our first big cover and we actually booked him as a model.We thought of him as a supermodel, on the club seven, we’d seen him in magazines and shoots with incredible photographers. When he agreed to do it, we thought it was a bit of a coup.I love this shot, as I think it’s the first time I thought I’d achieved a seductive image. Something that really draws you in, which is what I always wanted to achieve. It was actually from a shoot called the ‘Emperors New Clothes’ where I had the models in their underwear.In so many ways it’s the beginning of my career, the first really good shot I took.Later I found out he is an incredible musician.
Jarvis Cocker knows exactly how to make an image work, but he also knows that he needs collaborators to work with to get it right. For the Different Class album, Jarvis showed me a photo of an old couple sat on a bench in black and white, while everyone and everything around them moved in colour. He asked me how they’d done it, and I said it looked like they were life-sized cutouts. He liked that, and we were on—we moved really quickly from there, with me shooting in the studio then taking the life-sized cutouts around the country. It was so much fun.
When I think of photographing Jarvis and Pulp, those shoots are some of the truest collaborations I’ve ever had. Whether it was just that our way of working clicked, or whether it was a similarity in background or perspective, I don’t know. But it’s produced some of my favourite images.This particular one is shot at the top of Sutton Bank, just above Thirsk in North Yorkshire. My parents lived down the road at the time. The shot was taken in the car park outside the visitors centre there. All the kids were in the car park and when we brought out Jarvis they started messing around with him. The girl with the fag (cigarette) just pulled it out and pretended to start smoking.
Blondie / Debbie HarryJefferson and I were massive Debbie Harry fans. That period of music in New York had such a massive influence on us and Blondie was the ultimate. We thought Debbie Harry was the coolest woman in the world.I wanted something that was as striking in terms of background, as parallel lines. So I had this idea which you don’t really see in the picture, but I wanted to illuminate the background. It was in the Dazed office and I put light through this big red perspex. I wanted it to be a picture where it’s like an alarm. Obviously, the styling is extraordinary. It’s kind of got this punk feel to it, but it’s quite glossy – that was the idea, let’s do glossy punk. [The moment when] she kind of looked down, I went, ‘Oh, my God, your face is like a sculpture and there it is in the shot. One of my favs!
Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke was always exciting to photograph. He knew how to play himself perfectly. Every image summed up who he was and the band’s ethos. And that fit perfectly with our play on the rules and conventions of being a magazine like Dazed. Being so anti-commercial, Radiohead were perfect for conceptual shoots. We had Thom kissing himself, portraits of band members through TV screens, and finally holding images of themselves. Exploring the intersection between public and private, deconstructing who you are, and questions of reality. Like their music, the images couldn’t be just surface; there always had to be something behind their portraits. These two shots were to accompany an interview where Thom interviewed himself. It was an idea that Jefferson and I had wanted to do for ages, then Thom went for it. Apparently he asked the questions sober then got drunk and answered them. I always wished I’d beee there to see that?
Rankin