Bowie's Eye

“The chorus of “No Control”, one of the outstanding tracks for the new album Outside, co-produced by Brian Eno, echoes around the sparse, hangar-sized photographic studio. Heavy, black curtains prevent the scorching Californian sun from entering this artificially-cooled, darkened environment. In the corner, against a stark white background, Bowie pulls apart his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger. His trademark stare, one dilated ‘cynical’ pupil, one expanded ‘childlike’ eye, takes on an exaggerated, forced life of its own. One half of him has been there, seen it, done it; the other half is still excited and enthusiastic about seeing new things.”

- Jefferson Hack, ‘The Changing Faces of David Bowie’, Dazed & Confused, Issue 14, 1995

Photographed by Rankin in 1995, this image of David Bowie was taken during the early years of Dazed & Confused (founded in 1991). Shot out in California, co-founder of Dazed, Jefferson Hack, interviewed the musical legend alongside Rankin capturing one of his musical heroes with the immediacy, closeness and challenging style for which he was becoming known. Printed in issue 14 of the magazine, these images of Bowie sat alongside profiles of the up-and-comers of the day, including The Chapman Brothers, Tim Burgess, from The Charlatans, and Jas Mann, from Babylon Zoo; exemplifying the wide cultural eye that Rankin brings to documenting and sharing popular culture. 

As Rankin recalls, “Bowie wasn’t deemed ‘cool’ at that time. I remember having to fight the Dazed team to make this shoot happen. ‘Genius’ is a term that gets bandied around a little too easily. But Bowie was a genius.”