MILES ALDRIDGE STUNS US
His Cinematic Photography at Fotografiska
British photographer Miles Aldridge is best known for his cinematic images of women, brightly lit with fluorescent colors that depict a glamorous and surreal world. Born in London in 1964, his father, Alan Aldridge, was a famed graphic designer and illustrator who created psychedelic artwork for books and record covers. The young Aldridge grew up surrounded by celebrities like John Lennon and Eric Clapton, cultivating an interest in pop culture and art. “In my images, the real and the imagined realms are constantly overlapping, meshing together to create a new reality,” said Aldridge in an interview with Forbes. “Moments glimpsed from life or remembered from my childhood are viewed through a filter of cinema and art and reimagined in the studios.”
On view at Fotografiska New York is Aldridge’s first museum retrospective in the United States. Titled Miles Aldridge–Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020, the exhibition is a ride through Aldridge’s universe. Virgin Mary references religious paintings by artists such as Caravaggio and represents experiences in an artificial approach with dramatic lighting, costuming, and staging. Supermarkets are a metaphor for the consumer society, the hope of self-improvement through retail therapy. Popcorn is a nod to the influence of cinema in Aldridge’s work and directors like Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and Federico Fellini who have inspired the artist’s style and vision.
The show comprises 64 works and features his portraiture with subjects including Viola Davis, Donatella Versace, Marina Abramović, Michael Fassbender, and Sophie Turner. “Viola Davis was wonderful to work with on her portrait for the cover of TIME magazine,” said Aldridge. “This smile seemed to encapsulate all of Hollywood in its false construct of real human emotion. Being the consummate actor she is, she struck this balance again and again. When I shoot, I like to repeat a gesture over and over like a director taking, take after take, in the hope that some magic may come through. In this case, it did.”
Miles Aldridge – Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020. At Fotografiska New York through October 2021.
