We love to celebrate a legend. Yesterday marks seven years since the passing of powerhouse artist Amy Winehouse. Four years before this, Winehouse was introduced to then 22-year-old photographer Blake Wood, the ‘Good Blake.’ On the night of the Grammys in 2008, Amy said in her winning speech (she won five awards that night): “To my mum and dad. To my Blake, my Blake incarcerated.” It was widely assumed that the first Blake she was referring to was Wood, the second her jailed husband Blake Fielder-Civil. The bad Blake, obvs. Through their friendship, Woods documented the moments where Amy shined, as the press and the rest of the world solely and wickedly focused on her downward spiral. Both feeling like outsiders, Wood says that this was why they connected and became so close. “This is not a doom-and-gloom-and-then-she-dies story,” he says. “There were amazing bright moments amid all the chaos and that’s what I see in these images.” His most notable work of Winehouse is her trip to St Lucia in 2008, documented in the film ‘Amy’ where she had momentarily stopped doing heavy drugs. A sense of freedom is felt in these images and yes, Wood did always capture the best moments. It’s a different side of Amy than what we’re used to seeing, raw moments of happiness. The good stuff and exactly what we want to remember. Other photographs include her performing in Paris and at her home studio in Camden. It’s an intimate look into Winehouse’s life, a celebration.
