David LaChapelle: Earth Laughs in Flowers

Harsh, colorful, luscious, lavishly detailed, sculptural, often provocative, sometimes scandalous: that is how we can describe the impressive oeuvre of the American photographer David LaChapelle, who captures stars such as Madonna, Pamela Anderson, Michael Jackson, Björk, and David Bowie in photographic portraits, fashion photographs, or music videos. In this new photographic series, LaChapelle’s famous visual language is inspired by Christian iconography and the genre of the still life. Upon closer inspection, however, the vanitas motifs and Biblical allusions not only rigorously display today’s pop culture. David LaChapelle avails himself of traditional symbols of the Western world, crossing them with the fashion phenomena and accessories of our time. The hustle and bustle of our hedonistic society of excess congeals into a disturbing portrait of manners.