Description

In celebration of Photo London 2021, photographer Rankin opened up his Kentish Town Studio to the public for a weekend that explored the intersection between art, creativity and mental health.

After a year of concern, closed doors and isolation, Annroy studio, alongside Rankin’s new concept in luxury accommodation, The Penthouse Salon, opened their doors and shared the power of creativity to help ease the apocalyptic anxiety prevalent across contemporary culture.

A across the weekend, the public were invited to view two of Rankin’s latest series of works: Embrace and An Exploding World. Close-up and intimate, these series of images reflect the state of the nation and Rankin’s own self-reflexive take on isolation and lock-down through the photography of flowers.

Rankin and his team will also be hosted a series of events across the weekend; including a book signing, afternoon tea, live talk and spotlight on emerging photographers - bringing well being to the forefront of the contemporary art world.

Embrace

Embrace, showcases a brand new series of artworks, created by the photographer during lockdown. Close-up and intimate, this series of images reflects the state of the nation and Rankin’s own self-reflexive take on isolation and lock-down through the photography of flowers.

Rankin says “Self isolation gave me an opportunity to really focus on this work as I’d imagined it. What’s interesting about these images is how much they reflect my personal state of mind, whilst also in representing my approach to the world. In taking each picture I realised right from the beginning that I was treating them like a portrait. Whether that was of single flowers or groups, I couldn’t help but give them characters. Search for their personalities and try to bring them to life.“

An Exploding World

A companion series to Embrace, these new pieces, titled An Exploding World, explore the aesthetic of destruction, creating images reminiscent of nuclear explosions. Each frame becoming a take on an expression of Rankin’s frustration during isolation, and the expressive creativity that emerged.

“For years now I’ve been obsessed with the perfection of a dandelion seed head. Seen as weeds, they grow absolutely everywhere, especially in the city. And during a time of great stress, there was comfort in them. Especially as growing up the idea of blowing them was associated with making a wish.” says Rankin.

back to Top