Quick Facts
Biography
Iain McKell is a British fashion, portrait and social documentary photographer whose work has been published in L'uomo Vogue, i-D and The Face.
Early life
McKell grew up in England's West Country, receiving his formal education at Clifton College, in Bristol. He began working as a seaside photographer in Weymouth, Dorset at the age of 19. After studying Graphic Design at the Exeter College of Art and Design, he relocated to London in 1979, where he found work as a commercial photographer.
Career
He held a public exhibition in his own studio in 1984 entitled 'Iain McKell LIVE', where he photographed members of The Comic Strip, 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. He was subsequently commissioned by Smirnoff and Red Stripe for commercial brand advertising campaigns.
McKell has specialized in photographing British subcultures since the 1980's, producing photographic studies of Skinheads, Punks, Blitz Kids, and Rockabillies. He has also spent over ten years befriending and photographing people from New Age Travellers community. 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'.
In 2012 he published his third book entitled 'Beautiful Britain', comprising a collection of his photographic work between 1970 and 2012.
Books
- Beautiful Britain: Photographs from the 1970s to the Present. Munich: Prestel, 2012. ISBN 3791347012
- The New Gypsies. Munich: Prestel, 2011. ISBN 3791345192
- Fashion Forever: 30 years of subculture. New York, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson, 2004 ISBN 1903781086.
Exhibitions
2011
- The New Gypsies, Fashion Space Gallery. London.
- The New Gypsies, Acte 2 Photo. Paris.
- The New Gypsies, Clic Gallery. New York.
2001
- Then & Now, Story Gallery. London.