Pirelli Calendar 2024: behind the scenes with Tiwa Savage, Angela Bassett and Naomi Campbell
Prince Gyasi’s Pirelli Calendar 2024 includes Angela Bassett, Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba and King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
Visual artist Prince Gyasi considers the theme of ‘timelessness’ in his Pirelli Calendar 2024. Shot in both London, UK, and Ghana, his home country, Gyasi presents a colourful antidote to dominant Western notions of Africa in his playful and powerful images.
Angela Bassett, Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, Margot Lee Shetterly, Amanda Gorman, Jeymes Samuel, Tiwa Savage, King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Teyana Taylor and Amoako Boafo are the latest figures to take their place in Pirelli history.
For King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the year also marks a personal celebration, with 2024 being the 25th anniversary of the Ashanti Kingdom under his reign.
Gyasi, who translates his personal experience of the neurological phenomenon synesthesia into a vivid and boldly coloured universe, creates photographic artworks synonymous with fine art in their attention to detail.
His work has often included portraits of children from his hometown, Jamestown, in an elegant questioning of traditional standards of beauty.
Work by Gyasi, the founder of the nonprofit Boxed Kids, features in collections including those of Jean Pigozzi and the Pinault Foundation. He is the latest photographer to work with Pirelli, which launched the calendar in 1964 under the hands of art director Derek Forsyth and British photographer Robert Freeman.
Photographers and art directors who have since taken the helm include Harri Peccinotti, Martyn Walsh, Terence Donovan, Barry Lategan, Arthur Elgort, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon (recently celebrated at Gagosian), Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, Nick Knight, Patrick Demarchelier, Peter Beard and Steve McCurry, Helmut Newton (the subject of an exhibition in A Coruña in November 2023), Steven Meisel and Annie Liebowitz.
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Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.
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