CASTERLINE|GOODMAN PRESENTS
'CHANGING LANES'
After three successful years representing David Yarrow, Casterline|Goodman is pleased to have the prolific contemporary photographer's new show, 'Changing Lanes,' to the gallery in Aspen, CO, exhibit his most recent work. The show encompasses Wild West storylines and nods to Hollywood films inspired by: Bonnie and Clyde, American Beauty, Fargo, and Thelma and Louise. Yarrow also captures many well-known and recognizable celebrities in his most recent work, including Cindy Crawford, Ciara and Russel Wilson, Cara Delevingne.
1992, 2021 SIGNED, EDITIONED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 71 X 99 INCHES Joe Pytka’s 1992 Pepsi Ad with Cindy Crawford is iconic; indeed, it is probably one of the most celebrated commercials of all time. So much so, that there have been many retakes and parodies. As we all know, it featured a 26-year-old Crawford pulling up to the Halfway Café in a red sports car wearing a white tank top and jean shorts. Two young boys stare as the supermodel buys a Pepsi from a vending machine and drinks it down. For some time, I had yearned to do my own interpretation of the advert with a still photograph, and I secured Cindy’s involvement, who in turn secured Pepsi’s approval (given the implicit tribute, why would Pepsi say “no”?). The Halfway House has not changed at all from 1992 and neither really has Cindy.
The issue was the two boys who were never in the same frame as Cindy in the advert and would be even harder to acknowledge or incorporate into one photograph whilst maintaining the narrative. The idea I went along with was to use wolves instead - that way I could introduce a new angle without losing the integrity of the adaptation. I wanted the supposed wolves to be looking keenly towards Cindy and the only way that could work in my set was to have them approaching her from behind. Since the roof was down in the car, it made sense for them to have stealthily sneaked into the back seats whilst she went about her business. There is the necessary hunger and yearning in their disposition.
THE BILLS II, 2021 SIGNED, EDITIONED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 40 X 82 INCHES The concept of this photograph has been on my wish list for many years. A group of male bison charging through heavy snow directly towards a camera is certainly a rare sight, and it always seemed a bridge too far from almost every perspective. The question has always been where and how could this epic scene unfolds in front of a camera? In 2020 an American artist, John Banovich, an exceptional talent and good friend, suggested that I approach Ted Turner to see if I could gain access to his stunning 180 square mile ranch - Flying D - saddling Yellowstone and neighboring Big Sky. This remarkable place is nine times the size of Manhattan and showcases Montana at its most stunning best.
Flatteringly, a few months after my initial approach, the Turner team agreed to collaborate in the hope that we could raise money for Ted’s conservation initiatives. The difficulty is that bison in this vast ranch are more skittish of humans on foot than their Yellowstone cousins, who see thousands of tourists every day. I therefore needed either to be camouflaged or out of sight as they made haste in my direction. Luckily the Flying D team knew of a group of rocks behind which I would be obscured from the bison’s line of sight.
THE STATESMAN, 2020 SIGNED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 74 X 59 INCHES We delayed releasing this image because I wasn’t sure what to write - it was such a surreal few minutes, and it took time for it all to sink in. I guess, on the one hand, it’s a relatively straightforward portrait of an adult male polar bear - there is nothing dramatic going on and no collapsing iceberg in the background. But on the other hand, there is fine detail in this study. He is comfortable with my presence and happy merely to observe and continue being who he is - the ultimate alpha mammal. His relaxed demeanor allowed me to inch closer and wait for the head-on eye to eye contact. Only then can we stare into his unique world. What do I see in his eyes? Wisdom, security, and governance. He is totally in control - a bit like a meeting with a therapist. He has all the answers to my none. It’s a fireside chat at the top of the world with a Statesman. I think he is telling me that he likes his tea white with no sugar. Then we can get on with the issues of the day.
BRUTUS, 2021 SIGNED, EDITIONED, AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 79 X 72 INCHES This is a huge coastal bear, a living version of the stuffed ones that adorn the airports of lodges and airports in Alaska. They are bigger on the coast than in the inland tundra, and that draws me to areas such as Kamishak Bay and the river that runs into it. Adult bears draw our breath the most when they are standing as that is when their shoulders, their bulk and their menace are amplified. The average adult male coastal bear weighs five times as much as an average adult man and in many bear pictures - including the majority of mine - this is not adequately conveyed. Sometimes a wet bear can look a bit like an oversized dog and leave the cameraman frustrated that the encounter has been disserved. But not here. A true first for me and an encounter I will long remember. There was a huge amount of luck involved and then at the key moment, just a little steel. I am low in the water and the bear is towering above me - there is no room for camera shake.
AMERICAN IDOL II, 2017 SIGNED, EDITIONED, AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 54 X 52 IN
This powerful image of a large bull bison was captured near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. It is as good as I can do and probably my most impactful animal portrait for some time. The bison is an emblematic North American animal that roamed the continent millions of years before man. When fully grown, it is a massive beast that deserves our respect and recognition. When I was researching bison earlier this year, I quickly understood two things – firstly that some rogue bulls carry a serious threat if their space is invaded and secondly that the adult face is both prehistoric and enormous. The bison is all about the face and I sensed that any picture that didn’t recognise this, would miss my goals. My instincts were that the image also needed a sense of “Yellowstone in the winter” and this, combined with the need for proximity, all pointed to a ground level, remote control approach.
THE THUNDERING HERD, 2021 SIGNED, EDITIONED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 47 X 82 INCHES Looking back at my 38 years of holding a camera, there have been a few key moments along the way. Maradona in 1986 being my initial prompt. But it was probably way later in 2014 when I took the picture Mankind in a cattle camp near Yirol in South Sudan that my life changed. To borrow from Eddie Cantor “it took me 30 years to be an overnight success." There have been many failures along the way. Our anthology to the “Wild West” - now in its six month of production - had allowed us to become familiar not just with the topography of much of the west, but with many cowboys and ranchers whom we now consider friends. The cowboy is integral to the enduring myth of the Wild West and no more so than in Texas, where the great cattle drives were first initiated. No state played a greater role in the trail drive era. West Texas and South Sudan ostensibly don’t have much in common, but from a filming perspective, there are some similarities. The land is flat and arid and in both locations the cattle are special. The horns of the cattle looked after by the Dinka in South Sudan, are magnificent, but the Texas Longhorn is no poor cousin.
THE SHAPE OF WATER, 2020 SIGNED, EDITIONED, AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 71 X 107 IN This photograph, taken up river at low tide on the Bantham Estuary in Devon, was hatched in my mind when I scouted the location alone the previous week. I needed a day when sunset would be coupled with low tide and mathematically that only happens once every two weeks. When shooting west, a low tide was necessary to be able to work the estuary on foot and a low sun would allow for shade.
Finding the day required just 60 seconds research on the internet, but of course there could be no assurance that the weather on the optimum day would be good - especially in the UK. Without sunlight, there wouldn’t be a picture - I would not have enough light to freeze the action and secondly there would not be enough contrast between the subject and the background. I needed a beautiful evening and a sky free of cloud.
THE WOLVES OF WALL STREET, 2019 SIGNED, EDITIONED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 71 X 118 INS
THE WOLVES OF WALL STREET, 2019 SIGNED, EDITIONED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 71 X 118 INS We prepared for many months as it was clear to me that if we were to pay homage to The Wolf of Wall Street, we had to do it well. The location of the abandoned office in Simi Valley outside Los Angeles was ideal for most of the cast - including Jordan Belfort - the real Wolf of Wall Street, but not so ideal for the wolves, as there was no working air conditioning inside. This meant importing huge AC units to keep the animals cool.
This image is one of the most satisfying of my career. Someone once said that the best pictures can be looked at for a very long time. On that level, this image wins.
ACES AND EIGHTS, 2020 SIGNED, EDITIONED AND DATED ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT 52 X 70 INCHES We are always looking for wild west saloon bars with a difference and this does result in a few lost days on tour. We tend to look for one transcending feature in a bar and on this occasion, in the legendary cowboy town of Miles City in eastern Montana, we found a 100-year 18ft tall oak Brunswick back bar. It would not have looked out of place in the smartest dining clubs of the early days of Wall Street. There are many parts to this vignette. All are needed as I really wanted the room to be full of characters without losing the detail of the bar. After all, that was the reason we were there. The composition therefore needed to be very precise and all the talent had to listen acutely to directions which in a couple of cases was a big ask.
DAVID YARROW CHANGING LANES
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