The Amalfi Coast
Atrani, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone”. – John Steinbeck, 1953.
Steinbeck nailed it, but on his travels, he often did, and his observations are timeless. What was true in 1953 remains true 70 years later. The Amalfi Coast is the great creator’s aesthetic masterclass and, in this most spiritual of places, there can be no accommodation for those failing to give thanks for their brief tenancy. We are blessed to be here and this coveted corner of Italy reinforces the compass that always points to the celebration of life.
I wanted to take a picture not only to evoke a sense of joy but one rich in Italian narrative. There needed to be some visual chaos but at the centre of it I wanted to convey an easy admiration for the best things in life. There is nothing to be ashamed of in enjoying the beautiful things: whether it be cuisine; fashion or people and Italians seem to be more comfortable with this default position than most.
I chose Atrani for this photograph partly because it is timeless and partly because the stairs off the main square lead the eye and the windows frame the subject. It is a wonderful canvas from which to work and it is no surprise that big Hollywood projects such as Ripley and The Equaliser 3 have recently been filmed in this small gem of a town.
Brooks Nader is a star and I often work with her. She is not only striking, but she emotionally engages in every role I ask her to play. She is also great fun to be with. This was not her hardest role, she just had to be herself.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 64” in (142.2 cm x 162.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 79” in (180.3 cm x 200.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 42” in (93.98 cm x 106.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 57” in (132.1 cm x 144.8 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
The Road to Amalfi
Atrani, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“A corollary of life on the road, is to build up a mental collection of favourite journeys. Most roads only offer a perfunctory way of getting from A to B, but then there are the gems where the journey itself becomes the main event. My home country, Scotland, has the A82 through Glencoe; America has the stretch through Monument Valley, Highway One and many more; Iceland has its entire ring road and then there is the Amalfi coastal road in southern Italy.
It is almost incumbent on any movie director filming in the area, to emphatically locate the destination by celebrating the road. That is instructive as it suggests that to ignore the means of travel is to forget a prop.
The road is terrifying and breathtaking as one: hugging the cliffs on one side and offering vistas of the Tyrrhenian Sea on the other. John Steinbeck wrote of the terror of winding through the Amalfi Coast on a road that “corkscrewed on the edge of nothing”, clutched in his wife’s arms who was “weeping hysterically”. Every hairpin bend is a prelude to a new visual feast, and none more so than the bend heading west before Atrani. I knew, at some stage, this bend would find itself in front of my camera.
My leaning was to style a 1970s period shoot with a model capable of capturing the effortless grace and sexuality of Italian models of the time. She had to own the scene without impairing the visual feast behind her. American Supermodel, Brooks Nader, works with us regularly and knew exactly what I wanted from her. It all had to come together in the few moments when the police kindly closed the road; this was not a set for deliberating.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 64” in (142.2 cm x 162.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 79” in (180.3 cm x 200.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 42” in (93.98 cm x 106.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 57” in (132.1 cm x 144.8 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Tommy Tommy Tommy
Ischia, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“I have enormous admiration for Anthony Minghella, the British writer and director who the world lost far too early in 2008. His attention to detail in movies such as The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley was palpable, as was his passion for personal location scouting. He was much loved by almost all those he encountered in his work, however fleeting that encounter may have been. He was just 54 when he passed.”
I travelled to Ischia and Procida in the Gulf of Naples, largely to pay homage to him and visit some of those cult locations from The Talented Mr Ripley. The beach scene at Bagno Antonio in Ischia, where Matt Damon’s Tom Ripley first deliberately encounters Dickie and Marge, was wonderfully crafted and it was so refreshing to hear from locals that the cast immersed themselves into the culture of one of the world’s most timeless of places.
After filming for three weeks in the area, I thought we had the resources to play a small parody on that specific beach scene. The visually arresting Castello Aragonese is, of course, still there, as are the owners of the beach club with whom Minghella collaborated. They could not have been more accommodating to our crew and I guess it brought back some fond memories for them. It’s not often you go to a beach bar and see faded personal pictures of Jude Law, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and most of all, perhaps, Anthony Minghella glued to the wall. Ischia is a special island with a unique domestic vibe and when we left, we did so comforted by the knowledge that we would return as soon as possible; it is that good.
“I am a teller of stories, a weaver of dreams. I can dance, sing, and in the right weather I can stand on my head. I know seven words of Latin, I have a little magic, and a trick or two. I know the proper way to meet a dragon, I can fight dirty but not fair, I once swallowed thirty oysters in a minute. I am not domestic, I am a luxury, and in that sense, necessary.” – Anthony Minghella”- David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 93” in (142.2 cm x 236.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 108” in (180.3 cm x 274.3 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 62” in (93.98 cm x 157.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 77” in (132.1 cm x 195.6 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
La Dolce Vita
Positano, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
Positano – the poster child of Italy’s Amalfi Coast – is best viewed from the sea. It is only from the water that its spectacular cliff hanging location is visually showcased and there is a palpable and most necessary sense of place.
This is the Italy that is loved across the world: for the pleasures and indulgences; its effortless style and its traditional values. We live in a beautiful world and the Amalfi coast reminds us of the need to retain that state of mind as firmly as any coastal region on the planet. It has a unique and visceral allure that can run very deep into the sensibilities of travellers and locals alike. The coastal communities can cast a spell and visitors extend stays, whilst locals seemingly never leave. There is generational continuity down here from fishermen to taxi drivers. It is difficult to conceive of a book being written about strong local communities across the world and Neapolitans being excluded.
When I was scouting in the bay off Positano in the spring, I was struck by the beauty of the light just before sunset. The view looking west to town is always intoxicating, but when the sun disappears behind the mountains, it darkens quickly and a new mood descends on the community. House lights come on and, rather like mobile phones at a Coldplay concert, their random formations add a new layer to the canvas.
My research suggested that there was a 15-minute window in the evening when there was just enough light to shoot from the sea, but it was dark enough for the town to be a “sky full of stars”. Shooting from a boat is never easy, but at twilight it is a particularly low percentage practice as the camera is working at the edge of its capabilities. The trick was to shoot over more than one night and wait for a calm ocean. Cameras have also become immeasurably more capable in low light, so the cameraman has more opportunity.
I recognise that one photograph cannot bottle up and fully embody the sensory overload evoked by Italy, but for those that connect with La Dolce Vita at its most indulgent level, this may not be far off their Italian ideal. It’s a dreamy photograph and that was always the intent.
I want to thank Kelsey Merritt who took time out of the Paris shows to work with me that day. She played the role of the quintessential Italian beauty with grace, confidence and intelligence.
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 79” in (142.2 cm x 200.66 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 94” in (180.3 cm x 238.76 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 52” in (93.98 cm x 132.08 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 67” in (132.1 cm x 170.18 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.