A new exhibition from photographer Rankin, Back in the Dazed highlights one photographer & one magazine, across one crazy decade.
Those early years were great for experimentation. For me, just starting out, I was like a blank canvas. Because we were pretty naively fearless, we did things that ended up really changing culture. It was from that time that I learnt that I love what I do, and I fell in love with the people around me – capturing them all on medium format film.
– Rankin
From cult celebrities to musical icons and the world’s top Supermodels, Rankin was at the forefront of Cool Britannia and the 90’s style which is still popular today.
Co-founder and Dazed & Confused’s first Photographic Editor, Rankin’s visual style helped launch the magazine and defined the aesthetics of multiple generations of British youth.
Across 10 years Rankin photographed over 200 iconic editorial shoots for the magazine, and his work from this period forms a manifesto about how to view the world, a political statement communicated not with words but with a camera lens. Unafraid of mainstream pressures, with Dazed, Rankin spearheaded LGBTQIA+ representation, took his camera to the street to photograph working-class kids, became “the” photographer for Brit-popbands, and created defining images of emerging cult actors.
To understand Rankin’s work you need not look any further than the pages of his first magazine, a printed record of his thoughts and reactions to the world around him. Dazed shaped Rankin’s photography and it in turn shaped other’s view of the world. Think of your favourite young actor or pop star from the 1990s – invariably you are remembering a Rankin picture.
– Ellen Stone, Curator
Not an artist of rarefied tastes, Rankin handed notions of “high-culture” to everyday people. With Dazed, he gave ordinary teenagers their voice and allowed them access to, and opinions on, everything from contemporary art to experimental music.
©Rankin
Back in the Dazed is the first retrospective in the UK of Rankin’s ground breaking works over this prescient decade. More vital than ever, through Rankin’s eye you’re invited to explore the culture and creative community that was celebrated world-over. Back in the Dazed is a love letter to youthful creativity, all as captured by one legendary photographer and published by one seminal magazine.
Curated by: Ellen Stone
Back in the Dazed Rankin 1991-2001, 29th May – 23rd June 2024, 180 Studios
Tickets available from 180studios.com/rankin RANKIN ON FAD Magazine
About the artist
Rankin, a British photographer, publisher & film director. His iconic photography has captured everyone from The Rolling Stones to The Queen. Always pursuing projects that push his limits, Rankin has stood out for his creative fearlessness. His work characteristically probes and questions social norms and ideas of beauty. Personal or commercial, his images have become part of contemporary iconography, evidence of his frankness and zeal for all aspects of modern culture.
Rankin co-founded Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992, and has since published AnOther and AnOther Man, in 2011 launching the magazine and digital platform, Hunger. His work has appeared in over 40 monograph publications and has been exhibited internationally, including at The National Portrait Gallery, London, V&A, London, and at MoMA, New York.
Rankin is known for his public appearances, talks and TV work, including in 2021 hosting “The Great British Photography Challenge” for the BBC. He has also produced and presented documentaries, primarily with the BBC, such as “The Seven Photographs that Changed Fashion”, “No Body’s Perfect”, and “Alive: In the Face of Death”, an in-depth documentary into the modern approach to death. @rankinarchive
Dazed is an independent British fashion, culture and arts magazine with a reputation for groundbreaking
photography, fashion and editorial. It was founded by Jefferson Hack and photographer Rankin as Dazed & Confused in 1991.
Contributors include photographers Harley Weir, Rafael Pavarotti, Ryan McGinley, Walter Pfeiffer, Hugo Comte, Collier Schorr and Willy Vanderperre. Cover stars have included Harry Styles, Jungkook, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Billie Elish, Lil Nas X, Selena Gomez, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, Rihanna, Nicki
Minaj, Bjork and Pamela Anderson. Ib Kamara is the Editor-in-Chief; Gareth Wrighton, Art Director; Imruh Asha, Fashion Director; and Kacion Mayers, Editorial Director.
Dazed is part of Dazed Media, whose portfolio includes some of the world’s most influential arts, culture and fashion titles including AnOther, Another Man, Dazed Korea, Dazed Beauty, Nowness and Dazed Studio, the company’s in-house creative agency. In 2021, Dazed Media launched Dazed Club and App, a membership platform that connects you to a community of like-minded creatives via exclusive
events, opportunities and competitions. Dazed Media is headquartered in London for EMEA and New York for North America. dazeddigital.com
