“I made these pictures in a friend’s basement flat off Portland Place (around the corner from the Chinese Embassy) at the end of the 90s. A collaboration of sorts, friendship, makeup, Bowie, Larry Clark’s ‘The Perfect Childhood’ and a gun.” - Marc Vallée.
For the third volume in Marc Vallée's ongoing 90s Archive zine series, the photographer has collected a series of images featuring the mysterious and illusive Darian – a friend he first met while out clubbing at London’s Ghetto nightclub in the 90s. The pictures, which switch from simple portraits to more elaborated staged shots, were taken in Darian’s basement flat off Portland Place in London during the late 90s: his hair slicked back red, sometimes holding a pistol, sometimes daydreaming laid on the carpet. Like the majority of Vallée’s work, there’s a balance between youthful innocence and a harder, darker spirit. Acting as Vallée’s muse, the resulting images of Darian draw inspiration from a couple of key references: Larry Clark’s The Perfect Childhood, and David Bowie’s The Man Who Fell to Earth character. We caught up with Vallée to find out everything about his latest zine.
Published in 2024. Edition of 400.
