Photographer, publisher, and most recently film director, Rankin established his reputation when he launched Dazed & Confused with his business partner Jefferson Hack in 1991.
From his iconic shot of Kylie lying naked and prostrate, to the Queen smiling enigmatically, Rankin’s iconic, intimate portraiture style, and his mischievous eye have gained him a reputation as one of the world’s leading photographers.
Rising to every challenge, Rankin has never shied from portraying difficult subject matters, addressing issues from domestic violence to body image in both his personal work as well as charity and commercial projects. He made headlines again with his campaign for Dove showing women who differed from the usual stick-thin advertising stereotype. He has also shot prominent charity campaigns for Amnesty International, Everyman, Special Olympics, Oxfam, Teenage Cancer Trust, Refuge, The Teaching Awards, Women’s Aid, Women’s Vote, Breast Cancer Awareness and Youth Music.
In December 2006 he published the book ‘TuuliTastic’ – A Photographic Love Letter’, featuring an exclusive combination of commissioned fashion, advertising and editorial images of Tuuli, Rankin’s favourite model and muse. Then in January 2007 Rankin published ‘Beautyfull’, a book that brought together the most photographed women in the world in a powerful display of beauty.
Both the books were accompanied by intimate exhibitions in London as part of ‘The Series’, a six-month programme of exhibitions that ran from November 2006 to summer 2007.
Rankin also published a retrospective book in 2007 called ‘Visually Hungry’. The book documents his extraordinary career, drawing together over 400 images from two decades of work. A selection has been exhibited at the International Photo-festival Knokke-Heist in Belgium.
In September 2007, Rankin held his debut American solo show in Los Angeles at the Fahey/Klein gallery, entitled ‘Eye Candy’. Of the show, that featured a selection of his favourite female nude images, Rankin said simply, “There’s no point in dressing it up, I love women and I love taking photos, it’s more like a fantastic hobby than a job.” Have you got a look that defines our time? Rankin is calling for participants for his unique live and interactive exhibition concept…
Rankin is kicking off 2009 by inviting people across the UK to participate in his most ambitious project to date; Rankin Live! Using the latest in cutting edge technology he will shoot and instantly print the portraits of 1,000 Brits on site at his museum scale exhibition in August. Incredibly, this process will only take 15 minutes, from the click of the shutter to the hanging.
Rankin is looking for people aged 13 and over, with a distinctive style, sense of British eccentricity and enthusiasm. The only stipulation is, dress to impress! The lucky participants will be invited to the Rankin Live! exhibition at London’s Truman Brewery in August to sit for their personal shoot. The portraits produced on the day will be hung as part of an ever-changing exhibition and uploaded online to the Rankin Live! website:
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