“I like the idea of the fragility and strength mixed together. I like the beauty of the composition and the pink and blue colours. Those are things that I like and I wanted to 'feel' them.”
—Nick Knight on Devon, 1997In 1997, Nick Knight (b.1958) and Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) collaborated on an editorial for the 20th edition of Visionaire, which resulted in the present work Devon. Here, we see model Devon Aoki transformed into a manga-inspired heroine with one eye shining electric blue, a big safety pin and blossoms emerging through her slashed forehead forming an arresting cross. Devon epitomises Knight’s distinctive visual language that combines his otherworldly vison with his meticulous composition. Of his image-making process, he explains, ‘It’s about the purity of the note, like a musical composition. Everything is in discord until I hit the note, and the image feels correct.’ A pioneer of digital manipulation, the artist crafted a fantastical portrait that encapsulates McQueen’s desired essence as seen in this work. As one of Knight’s most iconic photographs, Devon graced the cover of his 2009 monograph.
In 2000, Nick Knight founded SHOWStudio, a groundbreaking multimedia platform for presenting fashion on the internet, and in 2010, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to the arts. His work has been exhibited extensively, including at London’s Tate Modern, V&A and National Portrait Gallery as well as his 2016 retrospective at Daelim Museum in Seoul.
Nick Knight, New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Provenance
Directly from the artist
Padden Kerr, London, 2014Exhibited
Nick Knight: Image, Daelim Museum, Seoul, 6 October 2016 - 26 March 2017
Nick Knight, Master of Photography 2022, Photo London, Somerset House, 11 - 15 May 2022Literature
Visionaire 20: Comme des Garcons, New York: Visionaire, 1997
U. Poschardt et al., Archeology of Elegance: 1980-2000, 20 Years of Fashion Photography, London: Thames & Hudson, 2002, p. 132
'Vision Quest', The New York Times Magazine, 15 April 2007
Nick Knight, New York: HarperCollins, 2009, cover
J. Kedves, Talking Fashion: From Nick Knight to Raf Simons in Their Own Words, Munich: Prestel, 2013, n.p.
ULTIMATE
13
Devon
1997
Hand-coated pigment print, printed later.
Image: 75.6 x 60.3 cm (29 3/4 x 23 3/4 in.)
Frame: 107.3 x 81.9 cm (42 1/4 x 32 1/4 in.)
Signed in ink, printed title, date and number 3/3 on an artist label affixed to the reverse of the mount.
This work is number 3 from the sold-out edition of 3 + 2 APs. Both APs will remain with the artist.
Estimate
£40,000 - 60,000 ‡♠
Rachel Peart
Head of Department, London
RPeart@phillips.com
Yuka Yamaji
Head of Photographs, Europe
YYamaji@phillips.com
General Enquiries
+44 20 7318 4092
Photographs
London Auction 21 November 2023
14
This lot is no longer available.
