The moment I first heard about the exhibition Willy Vanderperre ‘prints, film, posters and more‘ was holding in London, I knew I had to go and see it. I know Vanderperre’s work since I started my study photography years ago and I always love the way he looked at images, especially when he started working with stylist Olivier Rizzo. Two Belgian fashion pro’s who, years later, made it to the absolute top, without losing their naturel and edge. Willy is a longtime collaborator and friend of Raf Simons, shot everyone from A$AP Rocky and Millie Bobby Brown, to Harry Styles and the Kardashian-Jenners, and made campaigns for brands like Calvin Klein, Prada and Jil Sander.
The exhibit took place at Store X, in the basement of Brutalist landmark 180 The Strand. Not easy to find as nothing but a black plastic cache indicated the entrance of the show. The friendly doorman wanted a picture with me and I could enter the venue reception. A simple table with the (few) leftovers of all the merchandising (which I bought straight away), a turn table with a guy playing the soundtrack of the show and a small entrance….
Vanderperre showed over 50 works on the stark, stripped-back walls of the vast show space, in addition to a number of specially-created video installations. The pictures where presented in different ways: some where tapped on the wall, others glued like posters. There where giant frames with black & white portraits, small frames with fashion images, and some Mapplethorpe inspired flower images.
The show only was open for 1 month, so I was one of the lucky ones to see it live. Here is my selection of the works. Try to see it next time Vanderperre sets up a new show. It’s fab.