The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Feb 2016 back issue
“Before digital photography and Photoshop, there was a handful of contemporary
photographers - more alchemists really - whose surreal images seemed to hail from
somewhere far more otherworldly than the territory of shutter speeds and darkroom
chemicals. The best of these, such as Guy Bourdin, came from abroad, but Britain had one
too: Clive Arrowsmith. In my early days of fashion editing and style editing at glossy
magazines, I was warned off working with the notorious Clive. He was, they said, a wild man;
a bit of an off-the-wall scallywag; too difficult and too much attached to the music scene and
his collection of guitars. In short, they said all those things people usually tend to say about
the talented, untameable and inspired.
But luckily I did work with him in the end - on a cover for Tatler in which the actress Jane
Seymour has hair that is literally standing on end and a Tatler portrait of Tina Chow’s sister,
Marie Helvin wearing Kansai Yamamoto. Shoot for Vogue, London.
David Bowie.
Donna Mitchel, Paris Collections, Vogue, 1970.
Alain Delon.
Chandrika Casali, Vogue 1972.
Michael Caine.
Ann Schaufuss, New York trip, Vogue.
Ann Schaufuss, Vogue.
Ann Schaufuss, Vogue 1972.
Helena Bonham Carter.
Canned Heat - Historical Figures and Ancient Heads album sleeve.
Pirelli Calendar, 1992, Chinese Zodiac theme - Year of the Rat.
Charlotte Rampling.
Adelle Bonnie Lutz, Tatler.
Kate Bush.
Bonnie, who seems about to disappear inside the folds of a giant Chinese fan. Elegantly photographed, beautifully lit,
they have in addition to their quality, that strange hallucinogenic allure Clive has made uniquely his own. One that no
amount of modern-day digital tinkering could hope to better.“ Michael Roberts, Fashion Editor at large, Vanity Fair.
