Culture Now: Dennis Morris

Artist Dennis Morris is in conversation with producer Andrew Higgie, on the occasion of ICA exhibition Dennis Morris: PiL – First Issue to Metal Box. The pair discuss the expansive career of this artist, who has used the camera to produce an in-depth body of work on extraordinary individuals. Closely associated with music, Morris has created some of the most iconic and memorable images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols, as well as the Marianne Faithfull Broken English album cover. He has also captured the essence of the Sikh community of Southall, West London; the collection was subsequently bought by English Heritage. Morris also created the iconic Public Image Ltd logo and the band’s first two album sleeves, including the Metal Box.

Several books of Dennis Morris’ work have been published, including Bob Marley: A Rebel Life; The Bollocks, on the Sex Pistols; and Growing Up Black, a chronicle of Black Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is well recognised and has been exhibited internationally at the Today Art Museum, Beijing; Laforet Museum, Tokyo; Arles Photography Festival, France; The Photographers’ Gallery, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland. His photographs are included in prestigious public and private collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and have appeared in numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, Time, GQ, Vogue, W, and Frieze. His work is included in books such as Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century by Greil Marcus; Century by Bruce Bernard; and 100 Days of Active Resistance by Vivienne Westwood.