David Yarrow
South By Southwest (2023)

About the Item

South By Southwest (2023) Amboy, California - 2023 Edition Size: 20 + 3 APs Available sizes: 52 X 69 inches 71 X 96 inches All prints are on 315gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta Paper and varnished after processing to give both endurance and sheen. Each is signed, dated and numbered on the front. Price includes David Yarrow's custom black ash frame, white archival matting and protective UV acrylic. "Hitchcock’s acclaimed 1959 espionage thriller - North by Northwest - has long being a prompt for me; especially the sequence in which the fleeing Cary Grant is chased down by the crop spraying plane. It was cinema ahead of its time and I admit to watching that sequence more times than would be considered normal. During COVID, we played on this storyline near my home in Devon, but in 2023 I drew up a more ambitious story that would be played out in the isolated desert community of Amboy, California. We had scouted the area intensely and knew our angles, our light and most of all the landowners. The premise was to style the set as if we were indeed in the late 1950s and we recognised that we had a strong backdrop, as Roy’s Cafe is one of the treasure trove authentic landmarks of Route 66. From Roy’s looking east, the Mother Road stretches straight to the horizon in a way that plays to our preconceptions of Americana road trips. We then brought in a 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spyder as the lead car and dressed the background with a Ford pick-up from the late 1940s. But this was mere window dressing and my sense was that in order to transcend, this story required some heavyweight components. Flatteringly, Cindy Crawford agreed to be the main protagonist and I knew she would give Cary Grant a run for his money. Cindy is the best of the best and it is always a huge honour to work with her. Ascribe her a role and a look and she will nail it every time. But we also needed a plane. Amboy has a tiny runway strip and towards the end of the day, when the traffic is lighter, a good pilot can flirt with the tarmac of Route 66. I needed a pilot whom I could trust and I found him in Greg Caldwell, who slightly reminded me of the heroic crop spraying pilot from the movie Independence Day. We had worked with him before and there didn’t seem much to trouble Greg - not even his plane’s aerial proximity to a $10m Ferrari or, more importantly, one of the world’s most identifiable and revered women. There is a film noir feel to the image and I think the relatively flat light helps the rather menacing mood. But the credit lies with both Greg and Cindy who did exactly what I asked them to do . I guess we may have broken some new ground here as well as a few rules. The BTS video of this shot is worth seeing, it’s one of our better ones."

Creator:
David Yarrow (1966, Scottish)
Dimensions:
Height: 71 in (180.34 cm)Width: 96 in (243.84 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Medium:
Archival Pigment
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU388312493402
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Shop All David Yarrow

David Yarrow

David Yarrow, born 1966 in Scotland, took up photography at an early age, as a 20-year-old he found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, he took the sensationalized picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other high profile sporting events.

Many years later, Yarrow established himself as a fine art photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and recent years have been career-defining for his mark on the world of contemporary fine art photography.

Yarrow’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever-growing following among art collectors and celebrities. His distinct large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. Yarrow is now recognized as one of the best-selling fine art photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.

In September 2019, Rizzoli published their second book by Yarrow, with a personal foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady and thoughtful afterword written by American cultural icon and supermodel Cindy Crawford. All royalties from the book have been donated to conservation charities Tusk in the UK and WildAid in the US.

Yarrow's position in the industry has been rewarded with a wide range of advisory and ambassadorial roles. He is an ambassador for WildArk and The Kevin Richardson Foundation and is the European ambassador for Nikon. Yarrow has been integral to Nikon's most anticipated camera release of the last decade. In December 2017, he shot LVMH’s latest “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with Cara Delevingne. In January 2019, he was appointed as a global ambassador for UBS. In the spring of 2020, Yarrow was appointed a global ambassador for Best Buddies – one of America’s most established children’s charities.

Yarrow became an ambassador for the African Community and Conservation Foundation and presented his work in the Endangered Rangers virtual fundraiser. At the start of 2020, Yarrow was in Australia documenting the devastating bush fires that have destroyed communities, wildlife and wildlands. Using the striking images that he captured of the effects of the fire, he launched the #KoalaComeback Campaign to support the recovery efforts in Australia. The campaign raised over $1.4 million, and as Yarrow continues to work for humanitarian causes, his steadfast determination continues to make positive change for the benefit of global awareness. Currently, Yarrow continues to create stunning imagery with lasting global impact and archival quality that speaks to his reverence for the art of photography in capturing the wonders of the world.

Find a collection of original David Yarrow photography on 1stDibs.