Rankin – Zeitsprünge (Leaps in Time)
Amy Pateman examines the new exhibition from the legendary British fashion photographer in association with Leica
This month we’ve all been invited on a journey through the visual history of arguably one of the most sought- after and influential photographers of our era, Rankin. His new exhibition: Rankin – Zeitsprünge (Leaps in Time) opens on May 26th at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar, Germany, and offers a fascinating and sometimes unexpected insight into the work that has made the man internationally famous.
The imagery on display takes in the past three decades of his creative output, with shots from some of the world’s best-known fashion and culture titles – Dazed & Confused, Arena, Italian GQ and, of course, Hunger, to name but a few. The journey gives us various slices of beauty, fashion and celebrity portraiture that not only give us a chance to see the changing themes and constant motifs, but also remind us of the cultural and societal events of the time that might have influenced them.
Rankin’s photography has long been renowned for its mix of elegant and contemporary juxtaposed with dynamic and classic. It’s one of the many reasons why he was one of our feature interviews for our SS22 issue of THE FALL, A Tale of Two Cities. With images featuring the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Vivienne Westwood, Ewan McGregor, Björk, Heidi Klum and David Bowie, it would be impossible to calculate how many in the industry he’s influenced or challenged along his way. Thirty years later in the age of digital and AI, he’s still setting trends and inspiring new generations.
To coincide with the new show, HUNGER magazine’s next issue, Timeslice will be released as a standalone collector’s edition. The edition will feature new and past work, with some of the images, such as the portrait of Lisa Vacari and Sibyl Buck, also featured in the show. It would be worth taking the (leap in) time.
Rankin: Zeitsprünge (Leaps in Time) runs from May 26th until September 27th, 2023. For more information, click here