Brian Aris' photographs of Debbie Harry revel in the Blondie star's brilliance

Date
16 January 2013

When photographer Brian Aris first met Debbie Harry in 1977 he didn’t know that much about her and scribbled down the phrase “punk princess” in his diary after the shoot. He could never have predicted that he had just met one of music’s next big icons whose career with Blondie would explode over the next few years– nor did he realise that as her star rose he too would continue to photograph her and her band for decades to come.

A new show opening in London tomorrow brings together many of Brian’s photographs of the striking singer who helped redefine the idea of the female superstar. In among the collection are never before seen shots of her in her New York apartment and on the set of the video for Islands of Lost Souls. Figures like Debbie Harry become a kind of redux of their real selves as they are burdened with other people’s projected hopes and expectations, but Brian’s enduring friendship with her creates a set of images which help re-fix the person behind the personality.

Debbie Harry: Queen of Punk. Photographs by Brian Aris is at Proud Chelsea until February 17.

Above

Brian Aris: Debbie Harry, New York Studio, 1980.

Above

Brian Aris: Debbie Harry, New York Apartment with Warhol Portrait, 1988.

Above

Brian Aris: Debbie Harry, Cammo Outfit, Holborn Studios, London, 1987.

Above

Brian Aris: Debbie Harry, New York Studio, 1981.

Above

Brian Aris: Debbie Harry, New York Apartment, New York Apartment, Back Yard, 1983.

Above

Brian Aris: Debbie Harry, Travelling to the Scilly Isles to film the video of “Island of Lost Souls”, 1982.

Share Article

About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.