Miles Aldridge

Miles Aldridge, British, b. 1964, London

Aldridge is a world-renowned photographer and artist known for his highly stylized, cinematic images that often blend the aesthetics of fashion, film noir, and Pop Art. His work is instantly recognizable for its use of vibrant, "acidic" colors and meticulously staged settings that explore the tension between domestic perfection and psychological unease.

Aldridge was born into a highly creative environment. His father, Alan Aldridge, was a legendary illustrator and graphic designer famous for his psychedelic work for the Beatles and The Who. Despite this background, Miles didn’t immediately settle on photography. He studied illustration at Central Saint Martins and spent several years directing music videos for artists like The Jesus and Mary Chain before pivoting to photography in the mid-1990s.

Often described as a "technicolor voyeur," Aldridge’s work is characterized by several key elements:

• Cinematic "Mise-en-Scène": His photographs often look like snatched frames from a film. He cites directors like Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and Federico Fellini as major influences.
• Meticulous Planning: Unlike many photographers who capture spontaneous moments, Aldridge treats his shoots like film productions. He begins each project with detailed storyboard sketches in ink or pencil before ever picking up a camera.
• The "Artificial" Woman: His subjects are frequently women placed in suburban or high-fashion settings, appearing "doll-like" and lost in thought, suggesting a complex, often sinister internal life beneath a glossy surface.
• Commitment to Film: In an increasingly digital industry, Aldridge remains one of the few high-profile photographers who continues to shoot primarily on color film, which he believes adds a unique depth and "photochemical" beauty to his saturated palettes.

Aldridge’s career reached a turning point in 1996 through a long-term collaboration with Franca Sozzani, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. Since then, his work has been featured in top-tier publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and American Vogue

He has also collaborated with prominent contemporary artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, notably for the surreal magazine project ToiletPaper.

Aldridge’s work has been the subject of major retrospectives, including Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. (1999–2020), which toured internationally at Fotografiska locations in Stockholm, New York, and Berlin.

His photographs are held in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions, including The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, The National Portrait Gallery, London and The International Center of Photography (ICP), New York

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