Bailey's Stardust, an exhibition of over 250 of David Bailey's portraits, opens today at the National Portrait Gallery, London, where it takes up virtually all of the ground floor.
Organised thematically rather than chronologically, the exhibition is based on the notion of stardust: we all begin as dust and we all return to dust. Lesser known portraits will feature alongside some of Bailey's most iconic work, juxtaposing fame, fortune, and glamour with famine, poverty, and despair. The Rolling Stones, London's East End, Papua New Guinea, and East Africa in 1985: it's all there.
Bailey will be making new silver gelatin prints of his black-and-white portraits especially for the exhibition, showing off photographers, actors, writers, musicians, filmmakers, fashion icons, designers, models, artists, and people encountered on his travels.
The exhibition, sponsored by Hugo Boss, runs from 6 Fenruary to 1 June 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.