Back when I got my first job in 1996, my Creative Director gave me a book to look at called ‘LaChapelle Land’ that simply astounded me. Needless to say I hunted down my own first edition numbered copy… and it takes pride of place on my bookcase at home.

‘Heaven to Hell’ is LaChapelle’s third in a trilogy that began with ‘LaChapelle Land’. The images contained within the pages and follow in the same astonishing, color-saturated, and provocative style but this time there is more of a reference to Renaissance, art history, cinema, The Bible, pornography, and the new globalized pop culture… hence the title ‘Heaven to Hell’.

David LaChapelle was born in Connecticut in 1969. He trained as a fine artist at North Carolina School of the Arts before moving to New York. He’s once been called the ‘Fellini of photography’ and the list of celebs that have lined up to be immortalised in his images include: Tupac Shakur, Kayne West, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Amanda Lepore, Eminem, Philip Johnson, Lance Armstrong, Pamela Anderson, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Jeff Koons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hilary Clinton, Muhammed Ali, and Britney Spears, to name just a few.

LaChapelle’s work continues to be inspired by everything from art history to street culture, creating both a record and mirror of all facets of popular culture today. I’m sure whatever you think of the people he has photographed… you can’t argue with how amazingly striking and original his images are.

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