Tim Walker's fairytale visions of fashion have long been favourites of mine so I was more than a little excited to attend the press preview of his latest exhibition at Somerset House yesterday, not least because the man himself was on hand to take us on a very personal tour of his stunning work.
Walker has a way of marrying myth and fiction with that which we already know, making for fantastical visions that resemble those distorted fragments of dreams you try and hang onto after waking up. Aptly entitled Story Teller, the exhibition celebrates fashion in all its eccentric glory while the once staid medium of portraiture is revived by Walker's inquistive and creative lens.
Strangely, I found myself being drawn to the landscape shots and portraits over the fashion-led images, with a particular favourite being that of Walker's gorgeous Staffie called Stig sporting a ruffled collar beside a crystal galleon.
As well as the photographs themselves, the exhibition includes some of the props used in the shoots and a screening room showing films and behind-the-scenes footage of Walker at work. Try and catch the video of the Monty Python shoot if you can, it's endearingly hilarious.
The exhibition is a must-see this weekend and even better, it's free. And if like me you'd quite like to get lost in Tim Walker's images on a daily basis, there's also the Story Teller book which is already on my mental Christmas wish list.
