Majesties and Exiles
Photographs of The Rolling Stones by Dominique Tarle and Michael Cooper.
13th September to 15th November 2008
Welcome to what is, believe it or not, our first ever Rolling Stones exhibition. How crazy is that? The Stones have of course been included in a number of the shows we have held at the gallery, but it has taken until now to hold a complete exhibition dedicated exclusively to the band. And what a special one it is. We've teamed up with good friend of the gallery and Stones expert Raj Prem to shine a light on a legendary half decade of Stones lore, presenting a body of work by two photographers working in that golden period from the late sixties/early seventies.
“Majesties and Exiles”, combines the work of famed photographers and Stones insiders the late Michael Cooper, who chronicled the band in the UK and elsewhere in the late 60's, and Dominique Tarle, who documented their 1971 tax exile on the French Riviera when the band and their entourage were living at Villa Nellcôte.
This was a period when the Stones were on a run of four studio albums which are widely acknowledged as their greatest artistic achievements (Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971) and Exile on Main Street (1972).
It is unusual for us to host a single exhibition split equally between the work of two photographers. However, when you see two archives that are so complementary, with many consistent threads, synergies, and characters running between them, it just makes perfect sense. Clearly the band are all there, albeit with changing personnel - Brian Jones in Michael Cooper's archive replaced by Mick Taylor in Dominique's. The presence in both archives of Anita Pallenberg is one example of a common thread; first as the squeeze of Brian Jones, then Keith Richards, and starring in Performance with Mick Jagger; then Gram Parsons who, as a good friend of Keith, also appears in both sets of photographs. For a time, Michael Cooper was actually a guest at Nellcote and was photographed there by Dominique Tarle. Of course there's the fly on the wall quality to both sets of pictures, almost exclusively shot in black and white, and the fact that both photographers' Stones archives have been the subject of now unavailable lavish limited edition books by Genesis Publications.
The title of the exhibition draws from the two Stones' albums which are best associated with these photographers; 1967's Their Satanic Majesties Request, photographed by Michael Cooper (clearly inspired by Sgt Pepper : it's no surprise that the man behind the lens on both was Cooper); and 1971's Exile On Main Street, which will forever be linked with Dominique's beautiful evocative photographs.
Limited editions are available to purchase in a range of sizes.