Iain McKell

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Iain McKell
Born
Weymouth
NationalityBritish
OccupationPhotographer
Websiteiainmckell.com

Iain McKell is a British fashion, portrait and social documentary photographer.[1] He has specialized in photographing British subcultures since the 1980s and his work has been published in L'uomo Vogue, i-D and The Face.[1]

Early life

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McKell grew up in the West Country, England. He received his formal education at Clifton College, in Bristol.[2] He began working as a seaside photographer in Weymouth, Dorset at the age of 19.[1] After studying graphic design at Exeter College of Art and Design, he relocated to London in 1979, where he found work as a commercial photographer.[3]

Career

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McKell held a public exhibition in his own studio in 1984 entitled Iain McKell LIVE, where he photographed members of The Comic Strip,[4] and many of the visitors. This was followed in 1985 by an open workshop in The Photographers' Gallery, showing his work and a documentary film about the previous year.[5] He was subsequently commissioned by Smirnoff and Red Stripe for commercial brand advertising campaigns.[4] McKell has specialized in photographing British subcultures since the 1980s, producing photographic studies of Skinheads, punks, Blitz Kids, and rockabillies.[1] He also spent over ten years befriending and photographing New Age travellers. The result of this project was the publication of a book and various exhibitions. In 2012 he worked with Kate Moss on a photo project for V magazine titled 'Kate & The Gypsies'.[6][7] In 2012 he published his third book entitled Beautiful Britain, comprising a collection of his photographic work between 1970 and 2012.[8]

Books

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  • Fashion Forever: 30 years of subculture. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004 ISBN 1903781086.
  • The New Gypsies. Munich: Prestel, 2011. ISBN 3791345192
  • Beautiful Britain: Photographs from the 1970s to the Present. Munich: Prestel, 2012. ISBN 978-3791347011

Exhibitions

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  • Then & Now, Story Gallery, London, 2001.[9]
  • The New Gypsies, Fashion Space Gallery, London, 2011;[10] Acte 2 Photo, Paris, 2011;[11] Clic Gallery, New York, 2011.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hodkinson, Karen (28 April 2012). "Face of a nation: Iain McKell challenges our notions of beauty with his evocative pictures of the British". The Independent. London.
  2. ^ "CV – www.iainmckell.com". iainmckell.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ Farrelly, Liz., ed. (2004). Fashion Forever : 30 years of subculture. New York, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 1903781086.
  4. ^ a b Duffy, Keanan (27 October 2011). "5 Minutes with Iain McKell". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Society of Industrial Artists and Designers". Designer. 1985.
  6. ^ "Ian McKell, Kate and the Gypsies". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  7. ^ Casarotto Romer, Luca. "New Gypsy: a journey through an anient [sic] culture". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  8. ^ Davies, Lucia (27 June 2012). "Iain McKell, Beautiful Britain". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  9. ^ Churchill, Nick. "Cult Classics". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  10. ^ "Iain Mckell, The New Gypsies". Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  11. ^ "The new Gypsies, Iain McKell".
  12. ^ Laneri, Raquel. "The New Gypsies: Iain McKell's Photos Of A Nomadic British Subculture". Forbes. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
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