More by Rankin

British photographer Rankin commemorates his finest work through his largest retrospective book to date – MORE.

As one of the most compelling celebrity and portraiture photographers of our generation, Rankin brings a charged vitality to the subjects he portrays. A new in-depth retrospective book, MORE is a comprehensive overview, documenting the photographer’s most individual and best work from the worlds of fashion, music, and media from the past 20 years.

Organised by themes, including nudes, portraits (featuring iconic personalities such as Tom Hardy, The Rolling Stones, and Emma Watson), beauty, fashion, and myths (a collaboration with artist Damien Hirst showing a contemporary portrayal of ancient mythical monsters), MORE is a rich, diverse, and revealing collection of photography.

Upon reflection of MORE, Rankin says, “I am aware that my work is often a little bit uncomfortable, a bit strange, a bit challenging. I consider many of my pictures of the more famous people almost as ‘anti-celebrity’—get them off the pedestal, get them face-to-face, see the real person inside.…If you look at that part of my work, it’s levelling.”

Through this philosophy, Rankin manages to make us see familiar faces such as Heidi Klum and Beth Ditto in fresh and unconventional ways. “Some photographers poke and antagonize, some are really silent, some are demanding. I often rely on humour and also persistence to get that certain reaction from people – I can be very persuasive.” says Rankin.

Never content with the status quo, Rankin constantly innovates through pioneering projects, such as the project ALIVE: In The Face Of Death and his current publishing venture, HUNGER magazine. Although a master of carefully constructed staging and composition, Rankin’s images are always packed to the brim with freshness and spontaneity.

With a foreword by William Boyd and an in-depth interview between Michael Holden and Rankin, MORE is indispensable for anyone who admires the work of this photographic master.  For those wanting even more of MORE, also available are 100 Collector’s Editions of the book with the title hand-written on the jacket by Rankin himself, presented in a refined clamshell box with a numbered photoprint.

British novelist and author of MORE’s foreword, William Boyd, reveals: “There are wonderful portraits in this book, world-class, in my opinion, where we see that Rankin has managed to garner something new about even the most familiar faces.”