Sold Out, in association with the Duffy Archive and Nomad Exhibitions, presents maverick and legendary British photographer Brian Duffy’s work with David Bowie one of history's most influential and talented musicians. Over a 9-year period, often referred to as Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’, they worked together on 5 photo sessions and 3 album covers. Together Duffy and Bowie broke down visual and identity boundaries, and in 1973 created a cultural icon with the album cover Aladdin Sane.
BOWIE TAKEN BY DUFFY offers visitors an opportunity to see vintage prints and artefacts from the Duffy Archive together with new and unseen video interviews with David’s collaborators from the sessions. The exhibition takes the visitor on a contextual journey through the 1970s, revealing the immortalised process of two extraordinary artists.

Aladdin Sane ‘Eyes Open’ 1973. Photo Duffy © Duffy Archive & The David Bowie ArchiveTM
BOWIE & DUFFY
Between August 1972 and April 1980, Brian Duffy and David Bowie worked on five different photographic shoots. These resulted in images that we now associate with Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, The Thin White Duke, Lodger and Scary Monsters, a series of dramas that illuminate pop culture history.
Five times as the restless David Bowie changed from one sort of performing artist to another, addicted to trying out different things, the equally restless Brian Duffy was there to take the photographs that confirmed the changes. Duffy became a trusted co-conspirator as Bowie experimented with pop stardom, captured the spirit of the times and left ever-changing traces of a legend.
If Bowie, The Performer in this production, was always looking for attention, Duffy, The Photographer, could give it to him in the most effective way possible. He looked carefully at David Bowie, clearly there to be looked at. He gazed a gazely stare, sized him up, took him in, studied him, chatted with him, shadowed him, advised him, interpreted him, in his own way embraced him. Having taken Bowie from one place to another, Duffy passed on his thinking in photographs of Bowie that simultaneously stopped time and let it run wild.
Duffy got close to David Bowie, as close as he could, times five, until he’d seen enough. After Duffy had done his job, we can get as close, and see for ourselves.