To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday on 8 January, Zebra One Gallery is releasing rare images of the late icon by celebrated photographer Kate Garner in an exclusive, new series of signed colourways.
THE ONLY BOWIE IMAGES GARNER HAS LEFT
The images are from an extraordinary, 1995 LA shoot with the Starman, They are the only Bowie images Garner has left, after her entire photograph collection was stolen from storage in LA, 12 years ago. Fortunately, a friend had rescued this piece of history by keeping a handful of prints and negatives in his London studio.
THE MOST AMAZING HUMAN
Photographer-turned-singer, Garner explains:
‘I was never a crazy Bowie fan, preferring the rough edges of Iggy Pop to David’s personas, but after spending an afternoon with this magician I found him to be one of the most amazing humans I have ever met. Incredibly charming, he had investigated who I was, found out that I worked with his friend and producer Tony Visconti (who said that Haysi Fantayzee, along with Bowie and Marc Bolan, were among his favorite artists to work with), learnt the words to my songs and sung them to me over the lunch table whilst staring directly into my eyes! He showed me photographs of his paintings and asked me to give a critique of them. This, along with the fact that at age 47 he had a translucent physical beauty made him pretty hard to resist!’
The challenging shoot was for two different magazine covers in one afternoon, and both Esquire and Raygun wanted creative control. But Bowie made the experience as easy as possible, by happily allowing Garner to tie him up with ropes and suspend him from the ceiling, wrapped in bandages and put inside a giant tube.
EASY GOING SESSION
She adds: “The only request David balked at was me photographing his naked back from behind because he had scoliosis. After we had finished, David asked me if I wanted to do another, more intimate, easy-going session, and did I want to photograph Iman, his wife? Yes, Yes, please!
“At that time I lived in an old 40’s apartment in LA with beautiful light. I envisioned photographs of him on the white bed with sunlight pouring in over his white skin. I asked the Face magazine if they would be interested in sponsoring the session. They declined saying he had ‘sold out!’ Unbelievable.
PIECE OF HISTORY
Zebra One Gallery owner and curator, Gabrielle Du Plooy adds: “We’re so excited to be able to share this amazing piece of history.
“To celebrate what would have been his birthday, these fantastic images are being sold exclusively through Zebra One Gallery, with gold and pink editions as well as black and white.”
KATE GARNER RARE BOWIE IMAGES ARE ON SALE NOW IN THE ZEBRA ONE SHOP
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