Last week I had the pleasure of attending the ‘Do not disturb’ Ellen Von Unwerth exhibition at the Michael Hoppen Gallery .Which will be running till the 31/08/2012.

If anyone asks me who is your greatest inspiration as a photographer, there are countless names I can think of, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Marc Langrande, Paolo Roversi, Mert and Marcus, Eva Arnold, Lillian Bassman, Peter Lindberg, Helmet Newton, Camilla Arkran, Sarah Moon, Mikael Jansson, Dennis Stock, Henri Cartier-Bresson…..  but the one that stands out most for me is Ellen Von Unwerth!!  I remember being immediately struck with her imagery after seeing the infamous Guess campaign of the early 90‘s which subsequently made stars of both Claudia Schiffer and Eva Hertigova:

What I absolutely love about her work is how invigorating and fun it always seems,such a refreshing change from some of the cold detached fashion photography that we see of late. There’s a boldness to her work, that echo’s some of Helmut Newton’s stark erotica yet she injects a playful edge to it that clearly makes it her own leading her to being dubbed ‘the queen of tongue in cheek’.:p

At the exhibition there are 10 main photo’s on display with print sales ranging from £1,500 -£12,000. The theme for the exhibition was by Inspired by David Lynch (my all time favorite movie director) and is set in LA’s quirky Madonna Inn. The eccentric decor and vibrate colours of these hotel rooms match Ellen Von Unwerth’s style perfectly, taking us through the keyhole into a world of tongue in cheek debauchery.

Ellen Von Unwerth herself speaks about the exhibition in the video clip below

[blip.tv http://blip.tv/play/AYL7rQcC?p=1 width=”780″ height=”438″]