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Photography News Issue 23 absolutephoto.com
Exhibition
Previous page Nagaland, 2012. This page (clockwise from left) Papua New Guinea, 1974; Kate Moss, 2013; Jerry Hall and Helmut Newton, 1983, Catherine Bailey, 1989; Rio Club, East London, 1968.
Words by Megan Croft
He made his name in the sixties and simultaneously can be credited for making the name of a few others in his wake too, not least of all the woman considered the world’s first supermodel, Jean Shrimpton. It was Jean who knewhimaffectionately as Bailey, a cognomen that’s lasted the distance of his more than 50‑year career and is now synonymous with fashion and celebrity portraiture. Landing his first Vogue cover in 1961 marked the beginning of his burgeoning career and the start of the swinging sixties, a cultural phenomenon that Bailey was not only a part of but was also in part responsible for. He became a celebrity in his own right, hanging out with those he photographed and living the rock and roll lifestyle to the full. Towing the line was never an option for Bailey who locked horns with editors unwilling to compromise on their creative vision. Speaking to CNN Style earlier this year, he admitted himself that he isn’t the most amenable photographer to work alongside: “Most people don’t like working with me, especially fashion editors, because I don’t agree with them,” he explained. “I’m not going to have someone telling me how a girl should look. A girl looks like how I want her to look. If they want her to look like that, either get somebody else, or do it themselves,” he added. It’snotjustmodelswhohavebeenprivileged to be captured by Bailey: musicians, cultural icons, artists… the list goes on. Anyone who is anyone is likely to have had their portrait taken by Bailey, big names including the likes
of Salvador Dali, Jack Nicholson, Johnny Depp and Francis Bacon have all sat for him. He’s famously captured The Rolling Stones on tour and in their most candid moments, as well as creating album artwork for the band. He has confessed in the past that he doesn’t take images, butmakes them, a technique he credits to talking, listening and teasing conversation out of his subjects ready for those few perfect moments when he clicks the shutter for the portrait. Shunning the world that once made him a household name and much-clamoured after artist, Bailey openly admits now that it would take a lot of money for him to return to work in the fashion industry because of the creative differences and clashes that he has faced over the years. Most people don’t like working with me, especially fashion editors, because I don’t agree with them
Although perhaps best known for his fashion work, Bailey is much more than just a fashion photographer. Born in the East End, his fascination with people encompasses much more than celebrity. Early on he was known for capturing the social scene in London’s East End, shooting the people, the cafés, clubs and pubs before the regeneration. In 1974 he travelled to Papua New Guinea to capture portraits of the tribespeople and more recently has travelled to the Naga Hills, between Burma and India, to take portraits of the local elders. To top off what is an already enormously successful career, David Bailey received his CBE in 2001 and in 2005 was awarded the Royal Photographic Society’s prestigious Centenary Medal.
Bailey in Edinburgh
The UK’s largest exhibition of Bailey’s work, Stardust , is now on show in Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery, displaying more than 300 images that span right across his career, from his early fashion photography up to his global portraiture and photos of his wife and muse, model Catherine Bailey. Bailey curated the exhibition himself and personally directed the Edinburgh edition of the touring exhibition with most of the portraits being newly printed. You can catch Bailey’s Stardust until 18 October 2015 and tickets cost £11/£9. nationalgalleries.org
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