“I quite simply like people with personality, who can have fun in front of my camera!”

Ellen Von Unwerth is one of the most influential photographers of her generation and an exception in the world of fashion photography, traditionally dominated by men—at least behind the camera. Equipped with a Leica S (Typ 007), Ellen created a series of very personal photographs, free from the limitations of a commercial assignment, filled with moments brimming with life. In this project, we follow a gang of girls in search of happiness in the Wild West. The refreshing and unconventional imagery of the photographer is fueled by a unique mix of humor, boldness, frivolity, and joy. For this series, Von Unwerth managed to involve some big stars to join the party: the versatile Marilyn Manson, actor Micah Fitzgerald, musician Caroline Vreeland, and performance artist Millie Brown. All of them invite the viewer to engage and be swept away by the cinematic sequences. 

Ellen von Unwerth was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1954; after spending her childhood in an orphanage, she went to Munich when she was 16 years old and worked as an assistant at Roncalli Circus until a photographer booked her for a photo shoot for the German magazine Bravo. This led to her discovery by the boss of Elite modelling agency. She moved to Paris where she spent the next ten years working as a top model with the greatest fashion photographers of the day. She took her own photographs for the first time in 1986 during a fashion production in Kenya. Today she lives and works in Paris and New York.

The photographs in this exhibition were taken with a Leica S Typ 007 camera.

Curator and exhibition design: Matías Costa