Dennis Morris is a British photographer, best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols. [1] [2]
Dennis Morris is a British photographer, best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols. [1] [2]
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In 1974 Morris, then at school in London, heard that Bob Marley was playing at the Speakeasy Club in Great Marlborough Street, London. He went to the club during the day, met Marley and asked to take his picture. Marley agreed, and after hearing that Morris wanted to be a photographer told him "You are a photographer". The following day Morris left with the band in their Transit van. He went on to photograph the musician until Marley's death in 1981. [3]
After being approached by John Lydon personally, after their signing to Virgin Records, In May 1977 Morris spent a year with the Sex Pistols, documenting them in depth. [4] [5] [6] In 1978 Morris went with Virgin boss Richard Branson on a talent-spotting trip to Jamaica. Morris persuaded Virgin that John Lydon should accompany them. [7]
Morris describes his style as "reportage", citing as influences Robert Capa and Don McCullin. He used a Leica camera, finding that its small size meant that "you can take it anywhere, and no one takes it seriously. So you get them to open up." [5]
In 1979 Morris created the logo for the band Public Image Limited and the innovative Metal Box album packaging. [8] He then became art director of Island Records [9] and designed album covers for Linton Kwesi Johnson, Marianne Faithfull (Broken English) and Bob Marley.
In mid-1979 Morris replaced Don Letts as vocalist of Basement 5, a reggae punk fusion band. He created their logo, image, photography and graphics and gained a recording contract with Island Records. Their albums, 1965–1980 and Basement in Dub, were produced by Martin Hannett in 1980 [10] and re-released by the PIAS label in 2017. [11]
In 2000 Morris travelled to the Philippines to photograph the crucifixion of artist Sebastian Horsley. [12] In 2002, to mark the 40th anniversary of Jamaican independence, Morris was commissioned by BBC 2 to document reggae superstars, Jamaican street culture and the energy of the dancehall for the award-winning TV series and accompanying book Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music. [13] [14]
In June 2005 the Spectrum London gallery had a show of photographs by Morris documenting the daily lives, ceremonies and rituals of the Mowanjum Community of Indigenous Australians. [15] The gallery was blessed by tribe leader Francis Firebrace, wearing body paint and tribal dress. [15] Morris was commissioned to show a new body of work at the Today Art Museum in Beijing in 2008 to coincide with the Olympic Cultural programme. [16] A large installation of his punk images (part of the I am a cliché, Echoes of the Punk Aesthetic exhibition curated by Emma Lavigne) was shown at the 41st Rencontres d'Arles (France) during the summer of 2010. [17] In 2013 Morris collaborated with Shepard Fairey on a body of work titled S.I.D (Superman Is Dead), culminating in an exhibition at Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, USA. [18] [19] In April 2014 he exhibited a large collection of his Bob Marley photographs at the Known Gallery in Los Angeles. [20] [21] In early 2016 BBC 4 made a documentary on his work as part of their ongoing series What do artists do all day?. [22] In 2016 the Institute of Contemporary Arts presented an exhibition of his design, marketing, art direction and photography of Public Image Ltd. [23] In 2018, Nowness made a short film of Dennis Morris in Tokyo for their "Photographers in Focus" series. [24] In 2023, he exhibited a series of work titled "Colored Black" at Kyotographie International Photography Festival in Japan. [25] Some of his photos from his Growing Up Black collection are part of the Tate Britain collection and were displayed in an exhibition titled Stan Firm inna Inglan from November 2016 to November 2017. [26] [27]
One body of work, Southall – a home from home, was bought with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, [28] and is held in the archives of Gunnersbury Park Museum in London. [29] "Growing Up Black", a collection of his photographs of the black community in Hackney is part of the permanent collection of the Hackney Museum. [30] The Victoria and Albert Museum has also acquired some photographs from this series. [31]
In February 2025, the MEP - Maison Européenne de la Photographie presents Music + Life, the first retrospective of Morris in France. The exhibition brings to light for the first time, the full collection of his photographs capturing his youth in London, while also celebrating his iconic portraits of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols, which have become key images in popular culture. [32]
Morris' work has been used in books such as Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century by Greil Marcus Century by Bruce Bernard, Punk by Steven Colgrave and Chris Sullivan, and Rolling Stone: The Complete Covers 1967–1997. He has been the subject of documentaries and television programmes in the UK and US.[ citation needed ]
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