The Wild Dreamer

Finding inspiration in V&A’s vast collection of artefacts, fashion photographer Tim Walker takes viewers through a dreamlike, enchanted world with his latest exhibition. Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop checks in

- Tim Walker

The tiny lacquer snuffbox, part of the Rosalinde And Arthur Gilbert Collection at London’s v&a (Victoria and Albert Museum), sports two iridescent dragons on the top and bottom, but as soon as Tim Walker saw it, he saw “an empress, walking her pet dragon at night and picking a flower that only blooms at full moon”.

This vision was the basis for Lil’ Dragon, one of the 10 new series of photographs the celebrated fashion photographer created for Tim Walker: Wonderful Things (Sep 21, 2019 to Mar 8, 2020), a new v&a exhibition that not just celebrates his extraordinary contribution to image-making, but also the inspirational role the v&a collection plays in his creative process.

A regular contributor to Vogue and other glossies for over 20 years, Walker is known for his extravagant staging, which has resulted in some rather surreal end results. Think Jennifer Lawrence embracing a white peacock (for W) and Kate Moss in a blue Alexander McQueen dress reclining on a chair surrounded by small dogs, like a modern-day Marie Antoinette (for Vogue us).

The shimmering Burgau shell of the snuffbox’s dragons inspired Walker and set designer Shona Heath, a long-time collaborator, to experiment with ultraviolet light – along with bright green, blue and purple UV paint and make-up – to create the work that would eventually become Lil’ Dragon. Walker had never worked with this medium before, and while it presented a challenge, it added a dreamlike quality to the final work.