London independent record store UpsideDown Records is set to join forces with veteran music photographer Andy Cotterill for a special in-store hip-hop and grime exhibition this month.
The recently opened record shop, based in Deptford, South East London, and founded by Philippe Giron, will be displaying work from across Cotterill’s storied 30-year career shooting stars for the likes of NME, MOJO, Q, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Observer, Dazed & Confused, Uncut and more.
Speaking about the exhibition, UpsideDownRecords founder Philippe Giron said: “Andy's portfolio is unreal and, frankly, it seemed a bit overwhelming to choose one picture over another so we narrowed it down to a specific genre and it became easier. Honestly, record shop walls are generally just a mish mash of posters and stickers and that’s totally fine, but I really wanted to do it differently with UpsideDown Records, and make it a space that can be used for exactly this sort of exhibition, so it’s fair to say we are really excited!”
Andy Cotterill added: “I met Phillipe in the shop and was immediately into collaborating with him in his beautiful space. He saw my images and seems to really like them. There’s potentially many genre and musical themes we can do here, but we decided between us to start with hip-hop and grime. The idea of doing something here is so refreshing and feels more passionate, as it’s all about records and taking time to look through boxes and taking time out for yourself as a buyer. I'm looking forward to the response.”
Two of the images on display include Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and OutKast's Andre 3000 – below, Andy Cotterill shares some of his memories of the shoot with Music Week.
RZA
"This was shot in The Park Hotel in Kensington. I shot EPMD here as well as a few of the others. He was such a big guy and character to meet, but when we started to shoot I found myself thinking it was all a bit calm for who I was shooting and I wanted a bit more Wu… I said, 'We really need to go into the Wu-Tang area for the images' He was like, ‘You really wanna go there? Let’s go’. The the rest is history…”
Andre 3000
“This was done in The Social – I shot three rolls of 120mm film and could have used every image. He was the best guy I’ve worked with. Andre turned up saying, ‘I’ve got 10 minutes and the car’s outside running as I’m going back to the States… Where do you want me?" He jumped straight on the table. Perfect! I could have done it in a roll!”
Among the other portraits on display and on sale are artists such as Pusha T, Slick Rick, Skepta, Chuck D, EPMD, Jungle Brothers, Kano, Ludacris, Roots Manuva, Cypress Hill and more. You can see a selection of some of the images below..
The “From Hip-Hop To Grime” exhibition opens from November 21, at the UpsideDown shop located at 203 Deptford High Street, London, SE8 3NT. Prints will be come in black and white, and colour, and will be available two different sizes. They will be for sale, starting from £150 and up to £500.
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