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Photographer Rankin’s latest coffee-table book highlights the importance of creativity as a tool for personal mental well-being.

A companion series to Embrace (Rankin Publishing, 2021) works in this new limited-run publication, titled An Exploding World, explore the aesthetic of destruction, through apocalyptic imagery reminiscent of nuclear explosions or comets. The creation of which became for the photographer an intimate take on artistic expression, frustration during lockdown isolation, and a celebration of the expressive creativity that emerged.

Designed by long-time Rankin collaborators, SEA, this title is an intensely personal project for Rankin; one immeasurably entangled with his own mental health. During 2020 Rankin found himself, for the first time in his 30 year career, closed off from his studio and collaborators. Forced to find a way to create works without face-to-face interaction, the portrait photographer turned to nature.
“For years now I’ve been obsessed with the perfection of a dandelion seed head. Seen as weeds, they grow absolutely everywhere, especially in the city. And during a time of great stress, there was comfort in them.”
"Two beautiful pieces of work have been borne out of the pandemic. Rankin’s alliance with the specialist papermaker Fedrigoni has been a true demonstration of the creative ecosystem working in harmony to create personal and powerful art.”

An Exploding World by Rankin in partnership with specialist papermaker Fedrigoni and
creative agency and SEA launches on 2nd July 2022 and can be purchased at rankinswag dot com