Rankin, the London-based photographer, filmmaker and co-founder of magazine Dazed & Confused, talks to Claire Bingham about his latest project, Australia: A Different Light.
"You started your magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack after leaving college. Was it ever an option to work for a company, or be a photographer's assistant, or have you always thought big?
I would never have assisted because it's not in me to do that. I tried for a week and I f---ing hated it. We didn't think we would be big, but we always thought big. We were influenced by Warhol's Industry magazine and The Factory, Tony Wilson and Malcolm McLaren, as they'd created something within their social circle, and we wanted to do the same thing, by using the magazine as a platform for our peers to publish their work.
Why did you start? Was it a love for magazines or a device to publish your own work?
Dazed & Confused started as a complete love for magazines and even now when I get a magazine or a book back I love to smell it, feel it, touch it. It's a very sexy thing.
When did you realise that photography was the way forward for you?
I studied accountancy and hated it. I really wanted to be a director, but with no background in film in any way, shape or form, I thought photography was something I could pick up and do..."
It's a cool short interview on the SMH site.
W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/02/06/1107625043095.html