Hand Signals
Russell James
TEXT BY EMILIE TRICE
“Taking pictures of women for men is easy. It’s taking pictures fine art photography collectors’ edition, Angels. I believe this
of women which women find beautiful that’s challenging,” Rus- nude series to be one of the most special in the world. Not only
sell James explains to a gallery visitor during the closing recep- because I shot it – I wish it were so – but rather because of the
tion of his exhibition, “Angels.” The show, a retrospective of his extraordinary collection of women who so generously gave
18-year career shooting for Victoria’s Secret, has toured Aspen, their permission for me to publish this body of work. And I
New York and Miami, and is now en route to Berlin, Germany. admit being very excited when I saw the Angels book hit the
Comprised entirely of elegant black and white nude portraiture, best sellers list!
“Angels” is a testament to contemporary beauty, capturing the
The other highlight would be my artistic collaboration with
zeitgeist of pop culture’s collective physical ideal – just as Helmet The Seminole Tribe of Florida starring one of the greatest modNewton’s iconic nudes perfectly depicted the beauty idealized els I have encountered, Behati Prinsloo. It was a highlight that
in the 1980s.
the chief of the tribe, James E. Billie, actually came from his resBorn in Australia, Russell James lived in Japan, Germany and ervation in Brighton to attend the exhibition opening in New York.
Sweden before moving to New York in his early 30s to pursue his
career as a photographer. His lucky break came in 1996 when his What’s a typical day (or week) like for Russell James?
photo of Tyra Banks landed the cover of the Sports Illustrated It’s a push through the snow to get to my studio in Manhattan
Swimsuit edition.
and shoot a lingerie campaign, a flight and drive into Native
While “fashion” photography may be what drives Russell’s American lands to explore culture or attending a gallery opensignature style, his passion is also firmly rooted in his phil- ing of one of my collections. There really is no one week like any
anthropic platform Nomad Two Worlds, which promotes another and I cherish that fact.
cross-cultural exchange and supports indigenous artists. Most
recently, Nomad Two Worlds collaborated with the Native What’s next for Russell James and/or Nomad Two Worlds?
American Seminole Tribe to create the series “Seminole Spirit”, “Angels” will open at one of the world’s finest contemporary phoa collection of exquisite photographs printed on hand-made tography galleries, CameraWork, in Berlin on April 25th for six
Jap