Bailey’s Democracy

Recently, David Bailey turned his lens away from the glitterati and decided instead to focus on ordinary people – with startling results. Over a period of three years, people visiting his studio were asked if they would agree to be photographed naked. nNone refused, and none was rejected. nnThe results, presented here in one large-format volume, combine to form an all-inclusive, searingly honest portrait of humankind. Desmond Morris contributes an introduction.nn• This three-year project was subject to severe restrictions: each person was treated in the same way, regardless of who they were. The framing was always identical and no digital manipulation was allowed. The only variation was in the subjects themselves, all of whom were urged to ‘be themselves’ and adopt any posture they liked, a process Bailey refers to as his ‘imposed democracy’.nn• The photographs force the viewer to confront the human form in the most direct way imaginable. These are not nudes, they are naked people and, as such, they tell us so much more about the family to which we all belong. nn• None of the photographs use computer enhancement or technical wizardry to make people look more glamorous than they really are: what the reader sees here is the stark – but wonderful – reality of the human condition.nnDavid Bailey nhas been at the top of his profession for over forty years. Among his other books are If We Shadows, The Lady is a Tramp, Archive One, Locations, Chasing Rainbows and David Bailey’s Rock and Roll Heroes, all published by Thames & Hudson. nDesmond Morris is an internationally renowned anthropologist, and the author of the seminal book The Naked Ape.