Dennis Morris (photographer)

Dennis Morris

Dennis Morris is a British photographer, best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.^[1][2]

Life and work

1974: Morris met Bob Marley, befriended him and went on to take some of the most iconic photos of the Reggae legend till his death in 1981.^[3]

1977: Morris spent a year with the Sex Pistols documenting in depth the seminal Punk band.^[4][5]

1978: Morris suggested that John Lydon should accompany him and Virgin boss Richard Branson on a talent-spotting trip to Jamaica.^[6]

In 1979, Morris created the logo for the band Public Image Limited and the innovative Metal Box album packaging.^[7] He then became Art Director of Island Records^[8] 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, the avant-garde punk rock reggae band. He created their logo, image, photography and graphics and gained a recording contract with Island Records; their albums (Basement 5 – 1965 to 1980 and Basement in Dub) were produced by Martin Hannett.^[9]

In 2000, Morris travelled to the Philippines to photograph the crucifixion of artist Sebastian Horsley.^[10]

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. ^{[11] [12]}

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 Aborigine community.^[13] The gallery was blessed by Aboriginal tribe leader, Francis Firebrace, wearing body paint and tribal dress.^[13]

He 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.^[14]

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.^[15]

In 2013, he collaborated with Shepard Fairey on a body of work titled S.I.D (Superman Is Dead), culminating in an exhibition at Subliminal Projects (LA- USA).^[16][17]

In April 2014, he exhibited, to critical acclaim, a large collection of his Bob Marley photographs at the Known Gallery in Los Angeles.^[18][19]

Early 2016, BBC 4 made a documentary on Dennis' work part of their ongoing series: "What do artists do all day?"^[20]

In 2016, the ICA (The Institute of Contemporary Arts – London) presented an exhibition of his design, marketing, art direction and photography of Public Image Ltd (PiL).^[21]

His photographs have appeared in publications including Rolling Stone, Time, People, V, GQ, I-D, Vogue, "Frieze magazine"^[22] and the Sunday Times.

He has held exhibitions worldwide (Sydney Opera House, Laforet Museum, Tokyo,^[23] Contact Toronto and in galleries in London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Stuttgart).

His photographs have become highly collectable, including one body of work (Southall – a home from home) bought by English Heritage,^[24] on permanent display at Gunnersbury Park Museum in London.^[25] Growing Up Black a collection of his photographs from the Black community in Hackney is part of the permanent collection of the Hackney Museum.^[26] The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, also acquired some photographs from this series.^[27][27]

Morris' work has been used in books such as: Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century, by Greil Marcus, published by Harvard University Press; Century, by Bruce Bernard, published by Phaidon Press; Punk by Steven Colgrave and Chris Sullivan; Rolling Stone: The Complete Covers 1967–1997. He has been the subject of documentaries and TV programmes in the UK and America.

Books

• Destroy: Sex Pistols 1977. Creation Books, 1998. ISBN 1-84068-058-X.
• Bob Marley: A Rebel Life: A Photobiography 1973–1980. Plexus Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-85965-268-8.
• Southall – a Home from Home. Olympus, 1999. ISBN 1-84068-054-7.
• A Bitta PIL. Parco Publishing, 2011. ISBN 978-4-89194-890-0.
• Growing Up Black. Autograph ABP, 2012. ISBN 978-1-899282-14-2.
• This is the one: a photo essay on the rise of the Stone Roses. WSI, 2012. ISBN 978-0-9572471-0-9.
• "Resurrection." Space Shower Books, 2013. ISBN 978-4906700912.
• The Bollocks: a photo essay of the Sex Pistols. Zero + Publishing, 2014. ISBN 978-1-937222-40-6.

Album sleeves photography and design

• (1975) Bob Marley: "Live at the Lyceum", cover photography ^[28]
• (1976) The Mighty Diamonds: "Right Time", photography^[29]
• (1978) XTC: White Music, photography^[30]
• (1978) Public Image Ltd: Public Image: First Issue, photography and concept design.^[31]
• (1979) Judy Mowatt: "Black Woman", photography.^[32]
• (1979) Marianne Faithfull: Broken English, photography and concept design^[33]
• (1980) Pablo Moses: a song," photography and concept design ^[34]
• (1980) Linton Kwesi Johnson: LKJ in Dub, concept design^[35]
• (1980) Linton Kwesi Johnson: "Bass Culture", sleeve concept and design^[36]
• (1981) Basement 5: "1965–1980", photography and concept design^[37]
• (1985) Simply Red: "Money's Too Tight (to Mention), photography and concept design^[38]
• (2003) Dillinja and Lemon D: "The Killa - Hertz", photography^[39]
• (2011) Lee Scratch Perry: "The Return of Sound System Scratch", photography^[40]

Dennis Morris at the exhibition of his work on Public Image Ltd (PIL) at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Exhibitions

• 2008: Timeless, Mori Tower Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.^[41]
• 2008: 8 Visions, one Dream, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China.^[42]
• 2009: Growing Up Black, Hackney Museum, London, UK.^[43]
• 2009: Marianne Faithfull: unseen images from the Broken English session, Snap Galleries, London, UK.^[33]
• 2010: Rencontres d'Arles festival, Arles, France.^[44]
• 2011: A Bitta PIL, PARCO Factory, Tokyo, Japan.^[45]
• 2012: No, collaboration with Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Vinyl Factory, London, UK.^[46]
• 2013: SID (Superman Is Dead), collaboration with Shepard Fairey, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, USA.^[47]
• 2014: Bob Marley: Giant, Known Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.^[48]

Dennis Morris in front of one of his photos of Bob Marley

• 2014: The Bollocks, Known Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.^[49]

photographer Dennis Morris at an exhibition of his work

• 2015: Staying Power, V&A Museum, London, UK (group show)^[50]
• 2016: PiL first issue to Metal Box, ICA, London, UK^[21]
• 2016: "Punk in Britain", Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy (group show)^[51]

References

External links

• Official website
• "UK contemporary exhibition opens in Beijing", 2008