Ossie Clark / Plane Crash | 1969 | 20 x 30 Inches Ed. 10

Provenance: “I photographed an Ossie Clark dress, which became known as the ‘Target Dress.’ The idea here was to believe that this girl had just gotten out of this plane having crashed it and survived she would simply brush off the dust and walk away unscathed. Although the photo came out brilliantly, the shoot for it went terribly wrong. I needed to set this photo up on a long lens: furthest away was the plane on its nose looking like it had just crashed; in the middle distance would be an explosion created by my friend Johnny; then nearest to the camera was Maria the model; and finally there was me shooting through these layers. We synchronised the action – did it four times – and the fifth time before I was ready there was this almighty explosion…Unfortunately, Johnny misjudged the explosion setting it off too soon and was burnt, but luckily I got the shot on an earlier go.” The deftly composed image inverts scale by compressing space, making the model and dress appear with an impactful presence in the foreground against the action in the background. Highly innovative for the period, it is a picture that was made when fashion photographers were first experimenting with colour. Along with the theatrical production, Jim Lee took these experiments to full advantage creating a picture unlike any that came before it. SWIPE to see the Dusty Springfield wearing the dress in period.