Actress Tilda Swinton has been Walker’s muse for a long time, turning her into the artworks of Mexican surrealist painter Leonora Carrington or the characters from Ingmar Bergman’s celebrated filmography. But in addition to her, the British photographer has portrayed every artist, designer, performer, model and entertainer you could think of, from Helena Bonham Carter to Alexander McQueen, to Björk, Cate Blanchett, David Lynch, Kate Moss and Margaret Atwood among many others. And so the current exhibition at Michael Hoppen uncovers, as they explain, “wonderful people in wonderful places – often doing wonderful things!”
Because, as they continue, “Walker’s portraits bear testimony to his playful and imaginative vision, which conjures extraordinary worlds in which his subjects and friends are immersed. His sitters don’t merely sit for Tim, but are transformed by the roles they assume within his fantastical imaginative landscape”. Running at the same time as the V&A’s major retrospective, the solo show Tim Walker. Wonderful People is just another demonstration (and celebration!) of the photographer’s immense talent and endless imagination, creativity and style.