October 31, 2014 |
I had breakfast with Viviane Sassen this morning. Okay, so there was around fifty other people there too. But still, I had breakfast with her. Sassen was at The Photographer’s Gallery for the opening of her new exhibition Analemma: Fashion Photography 1992-2012. She spoke about her childhood in East Africa where her parents ran a polio clinic, her time at university with design duo and fellow Dutchmen Viktor and Rolf, her brief stint as a model and of course her photography which, apart from receiving critical acclaim has won her campaigns for Acne, Carven, Miu Miu and Stella McCartney to name but a few. Sassen’s work is instantly recognisable for its vivid colours, use of light and shade and experimental poses, apparently influenced by the polio victims she grew up around. The exhibition features around 350 images which are displayed, like a slideshow, in an immersive installation. It’s like being bathed in her imagery as her photographs are projected onto the walls, ceiling and floors of the Soho-based gallery. So go on, visit this exhibition and take a dip in the photographic genius of Viviane Sassen.
In Bloom by Viviane Sassen, Dazed and Confused, July 2011. Courtesy of the artist and The Photographers’ Gallery, © Viviane Sassen,
www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk
By Ted Stansfield
