«MORE THAN ANYTHING PEOPLE JUST WANT STARS»

Oh, to live the life of David LaChapelle. Ever since he ran away from his strict upbringing in Connecticut at 14 to live it hard and fast in New York with Andy Warhol and the Studio 54 set, it's been a rollercoaster ride of gay sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. He's shot more than 150 covers for Rolling Stone magazine and worked with almost every celebrity misfit and music icon that popular culture has given us. Stories of his epic partying, not to mention his stint as a rent boy and his three mental-institution sojourns, only add to the legend. This new exhibition, a collection of satirical photographic tableaux centered on religion, corruption and exploitation, consolidates the more message-driven and artistic direction his work is taking.
In the Nineties he segued into shooting album covers and music videos for the likes of Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and it emboldened him to make his first film. But it wasn't the celebrity-fest his fans were expecting — the thoughtful and critically acclaimed documentary Rize (about the urban dance craze popularly known as “krumping”) gave a voice to South Central Los Angeles's poverty-stricken, gang-ridden inhabitants.

This is London
May 4 2010