HEADER IMAGE CREDIT: Fever Dreamer Ⓒ Daniel Sachon and Imitate Modern (Fashion Designer Mowalola with a Cane Corse)
Image-maker Daniel Sachon’s new photography series and exhibition is an absolute feast for the fashion (and dog) lovers among us. The images feature a veritable cast of truly incredible and trailblazing women alongside a ramshackle pack of ridiculously cute, cuddly and sometimes ferocious dogs.
Pictured are the likes of supermodel and socialite, Georgia May Jagger, transgender model and social media savant, Ivana Vladislava, daughter of John Paul Getty and fashion muse, Ivy Getty, fashion designer, Mimi Wade, Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter, Cora Corre, artist, photographer and filmmaker, Nadia Lee Cohen, and British supermodels, Jourdan Dunn and Leomie Anderson – to name just a few. Plus, there are some Red Setters, a Great Dane, Dalmatians, St. Bernards and oodles of poodles.
We caught up with photographer-of-the-moment Daniel Sachon, the talent behind the series teasingly titled BITCHES, to hear all about it. His images feature women – and their furry companions – who are unabashed, daring and authentic, embracing our societal obsession with commerce, culture, glamour and celebrity, while ultimately celebrating the incredible women at the heart of it all. What’s not to love!
The photographs are on show this week in Soho, London and trust me, they will have you drooling while searching Pets at Home for your new furry friend.
Bloodline (Dana Point) Ⓒ Daniel Sachon and Imitate Modern (Photographer and Artist Nadia Lee Cohen with a pack of Afghan Hounds)
It’s no secret that here at BRICKS, we love both dogs and creative trailblazers – naturally, we fell in love with your new photography project, BITCHES. Give us a little intro to the project.
Thank you! Put simply, BITCHES is a tongue-in-cheek image series featuring a tour-du-force cast of women with dogs. In a wider sense, it explores the synergetic relationship between art and commerce and the points of commonality where these two visual languages meet. Traditionalists are so keen to try to keep the two worlds separate, but in reality, they are incredibly intertwined. For centuries both women and dogs can be found in art and commerce, and this was my visual tool employed as a way of following the thread.
In the context of the show, ‘Bitch’ is celebrated and championed term. The exhibition text mentions famed feminist scholar Jo Freeman’s 1968 ‘Bitch Manifesto’ declaration: ‘We must be strong… we must be dangerous. We must realize that Bitch is Beautiful and that we have nothing to lose’. What does ‘Bitch’ mean to you and how is it channelled in the work?
Of course, the word ‘bitch’ is often deployed by men to degrade women who are strong and confident (and thus intimidating to them). For me, this cast of incredible women both embody and subvert this application of the term.
In many ways, the word ‘bitch’ has lost the vulgarity it might have previously held, and is now used in so many different contexts with such varied intentions. Here, the word is intended as a humorous provocation because of the double entendre – bitches denoting both women and dogs. Most of all, BITCHES, the name and the series, is a testament to the powerful and inspiring women that have broken boundaries in their respective fields and might well be labelled a bitch for it by the many who envy them.
The exhibition text was written by my friend and featured model Georgie Hobday. It was important for me to have a woman’s perspective and invite her to share her thoughts on the series and its title. She totally got it and it was she who included the Jo Freeman reference, speaking to the duality of empowerment versus degradation inherent in the word bitch.
For centuries both women and dogs can be found in art and commerce, and this was my visual tool employed as a way of following the thread.
Daniel Sachon
Each picture tells a complex story. Every detail seems thoughtfully placed and there is a timelessness to the series as a whole. You describe them as mise-en-scenes, can you tell us about the inspirations behind the atmospheres and time periods conjured in the works?
I learned the term ‘mise-en-scene’ from one of my first collectors. For them, creating this kind of picture was the mark of a director and image-maker – someone who constructs the whole image rather than just taking the photograph, and uses every element of the styling, make-up, hair and set design to tell a story. This has to span every corner of the composition, with the whole frame collectively sharing in one narrative. I like subtly letting people in on the secret, that it is all meticulously crafted and no element is left to chance.
Of all the images you’ve created, is there one that stands out as a favourite? Tell us about it.
It’s really hard to pick one specific image, as honestly, each piece is really meaningful to me, whether it’s because of the memory of creating it or the final outcome. For example, I love the Matriarch in Situ images as I had this idea a long time ago, about a baby on their mother’s shoulders gripping onto her face. The visual has been in my mind for years so it was great to realise it finally. Also, the Chateau Marmont Series with Ivy Getty was an incredible shoot – we had a mental day running around this super historic hotel with a pack of dogs and had the entire property to ourselves.
How did you go about selecting the amazing women in the images?
Every woman pictured in the series is a real inspiration to me, be it for what they do, who they are, or what they stand for. I have been lucky enough to work with many of the women featured before. In these cases, it was a situation where I mentioned the project and they were just totally down to clown. I am particularly grateful to those who I had not worked with before, these women were so open to the idea and just incredibly trusting and amazing to work with.
Every woman pictured in the series is a real inspiration to me, be it for what they do, who they are, or what they stand for.
Daniel Sachon
I can only imagine the wild moments that happened on set with the many stunning dogs in the images. Can you tell us some of the strange, magical, and unpredictable happenings that occurred when acquiring the doggy models and having these wonderful women pose with their packs?
Honestly, too many to mention! Some unforgettable highlights include shooting in a studio that turned out to be a spot that moonlights as a gay porn set in Palm Springs. While we were shooting the Dana Point Series, Nadia Lee Cohen spent a few hours parading around in her underwear whilst holding chopped-up hot dogs in order to coax the hounds into behaving, whilst a gaggle of older ladies played mom-ager to the dogs around her. The dog mums are something from a film. When I shot the image Change of Pace with Ariana Papademetropolous, I had to wrestle the St. Bernards into position in 100-degree Californian summer heat which resulted in a sprained ankle.
Ultimately, what do you hope viewers take from BITCHES?
That nothing has to be taken so seriously. We are in a time where the world is ending, the fish are dying and art doesn’t need to be a reflection of the sad reality we are sometimes living in. You don’t need to read into everything, but should be able to if you want. Long live powerful women, dashing dogs, and high-octane glamour. Bitches are beautiful!
The exhibition DANIEL SACHON: BITCHES Presented by Imitate Modern is on show in London from 12 – 17 October 2022 at 59 Greek Street, Soho, London, W1D 3DZ.
Find out more about Daniel Sachon: @dsachon | danielsachon.co.uk
Find out more about Imitate Modern: @imitatemodern | imitatemodern.com
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