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Created by long-time friends, Rankin and Damien Hirst, Myths is a unique collaboration of the prolific artists’ respective creative mediums. United by a shared dark wit and inspired by their conversations around monsters and legends, this series brings together ancient mythology and cutting edge contemporary art. Dragging the gods of the underworld into the realm of slick, hyperreal fashion phototography, each monstorous creature was brought to life by model Dani Smith.
Rankin and Hirst leverage their respective creative mediums and shared dark wit in a project born out of a joint fascination with the ancient world, and an interest in contextualizing it in a modern environment. Myths is an exploration of imagined narratives and monsters of past civilizations, viewed through a modern lens.
“I always have dreams about monsters, devils and evil: I get a lot of my ideas from my dreams. I have a fascination with fantasy and reality, and bringing the two together to make people go, “Wow”. That’s what photography is. It can steal your soul, if only for a split second.”
- Rankin
“I always try to make art that people can’t ignore. The kind of art you can walk past without seeing terrifies me.”
- Damien Hirst
Details
Published - 2011
Pages - 150
Book Type - Hardback
ISBN - 978-0956779465
Publisher - Rankin Publishing Ltd.
Rankin
As a photographer Rankin's portfolio ranges from portraiture to documentary. He has shot The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner and The Queen to name only a few.
He is best known for work that is on the cultural cusp and leading future trends: producing rule-breaking campaigns for brands such as Rolls Royce, Unilever, L’Oreal and Samsonite; creating wide reaching projects for charities including Women’s Aid and Macmillan; and shooting music videos for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora and Kelis.
As a publisher, Rankin co-founded the seminal magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1991, and has since published the likes of AnOther and AnOther Man, alongside over 40 books and the biannual fashion and culture print and digital platform, Hunger.
His photography has been published everywhere from his own publications to Elle, Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone, and Wonderland, and exhibited in galleries globally, including MoMA, New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Rankin lives in London with his wife Tuuli and their dogs.
Damien Hirst
He was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995.
Since the late 1980’s, Hirst has used a varied practise of installation, sculpture, painting and drawing to explore the complex relationship between art, life and death. Explaining: “Art’s about life and it can’t really be about anything else … there isn’t anything else,” Hirst’s work investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the tensions and uncertainties at the heart of human experience.