A magnificent collaboration is about to be exhibited and published. Master photographer and publisher Rankin adored avant-garde makeup artist Ayami Nishimura 's exquisite talent and a collection of enchanting and distinctive beauty portraits that push the boundaries of make up artistry was born . The exhibition started yesterday in Annroy Gallery in London and will run till the 31st of August 2012.
Ayami Nishimura has transformed the pages of the world’s most recognized fashion magazines and the faces of our best-loved celebrities with her unfettered imagination. Her distinctive style makes up a glistening dreamscape where Japanese history, nature, and visions of the future collide. Given free reign to express herself, her elaborate and whimsical creations open a window into a fantasy world. Rankin captures this perfectly with his renowned skill for beauty portraiture.
Speaking about the process of making this book, Nishimura explains, "When Rankin suggested doing a book together, I immediately started doing a lot of research – I always do. I studied photography, fashion illustration, African art, nature, animals, painting, music – everything, really. I found myself fascinated by the idea of a cyber theme, and accumulated lots of different ideas based on that. By the time I started the drawings, I could see the makeup in my head. For each image, I needed people – stylists, hairdressers, nail artists, and set designers. Set design was the most important for me. I like the full image to tell the story, so I always fill the space. The people I worked with brought the project to the next level".
After two years of imaginative collaboration, Ayami Nishimura By Rankin is a beauty book that is inspiring and fearless. It highlights the talents of two forward-thinking masters of their trades, who have had the rare opportunity of total creative freedom. The result moves beyond mere beauty photography into the realm of high art.
“This is the second book in my beauty series and I couldn’t be happier with the results . Rankin explained. ”Ayami was a joy to work with and really took the open brief to heart. We’ve created so many original and unique images. It demonstrates why make-up artists like Ayami, truly are artists in their own right! ”
Having previously worked together on many projects, including Dazed & Confused covers , in ‘Ayami Nishimura’, Rankin and Ayami fuse their talents once more – creating stunning and mes- merizing visuals, heavily influenced by Ayami’s childhood growing up in Japan .
Book will be released worldwide alongside exhibitions at Annroy Gallery in London , The Rankin Gallery in LA and Diesel Gallery in Japan .
All photos © Ayami Nishimura / Rankin. All rights reserved 2011.
Ayami Nishimura by Rankin is published by Rankin Photography Ltd and distributed in the UK by Turnaround, priced £40, www.turnaround.-uk.com
http://rankin.co.uk/