Melbourne’s The RAW Gallery is now playing host to iconic photos of the Rolling Stones.
‘Rendition: A History of The Rolling Stones’ including images from The Stones first professional photo-shoot with Terry O’Neill, before the band was signed.
Also included are portraits of Keith, Brian & Mick by New York photographer Art Kane, Michael Cooper’s cover of the 1967 album ‘Satanic Majesties Request’ and Michael Joseph’s portrait taken for the 1968 classic album ‘Beggars Banquet’ which has been in storage for 40 years before being first unveiled in London in 2009.
Many of the photographs in the exhibition have only been recently seen in public.
"Putting this exhibition together has been a labour of love - something akin to giving birth to an elephant with a near two year gestation period & a big push at the end", The Raw Gallery owner Kirsty Umback tells Undercover.
"Curating this Rolling Stones photographic exhibition has been the biggest gamble, the hardest work and the most frustrating experience in the gallery's history - and I loved every second of it.
"As a gallery that specialises in rock photography, it was inevitable that one of the biggest bands of all time would be the subject of an exhibition. With a 50 year history to cover, the aim was to do justice to the legacy of the band, not just in music, but on pop culture in general.
"When we decided to do this exhibition, I made a conscious decision to concentrate on the photographers whose images had summed up peak periods in the band's history. Because of that in some cases, it has taken a long period of time to convince some of the bigger international names that it's not just the galleries they work with in the USA & UK that can successfully exhibit their work, but that a gallery in Melbourne is also worthwhile taking a chance on. This city has an amazing musical heritage and there isn't a better fit for a Stones related photographic exhibition than here".
The exhibition is free to the public at The RAW Gallery between July 8 and August 7.
