Buy Works by Viviane Sassen, Harley Weir and Jamie Hawkesworth for Charity

As part of Blue: Art for the Ocean – a collaboration between Christie’s and the ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation – Jefferson Hack, co-founder of Dazed Media, has curated a selection of works for sale by six iconic photographers: David Bailey, Rankin, Viviane Sassen, Alex Prager, Harley Weir and Jamie Hawkesworth. Hack, who founded Dazed & Confused with Rankin in 1991 while a student at London College of Printing, has worked with the aforementioned photographers on projects spanning magazine covers, exhibitions and campaigns. “They’re all photographers that I’ve got a personal relationship with,” says Hack. ”These are artists that I love – I want people to find an emotional connection with their art, as well as the foundation’s mission.”

The works included in Hack’s auction range in scope and form, although nature is a tangible throughline; David Bailey has donated a “really beautiful, unusual” still-life of cerulean blue flowers; Rankin a striking, black-and-white portrait of Sam Smith; Viviane Sassen a tender portrait of children embracing, tangled up in a fishing net, on a pink-sand beach in Africa; Alex Prager a Hitchockian portrait of a femme fatale; Harley Weir an abstract, glittering conceptual piece ambiguous titled Venice; and Jamie Hawkesworth a sumptuous photo of boys on the beach, from his acclaimed series The British Isles. “I wanted to give each photographer the freedom to recommend images to put forward,” says Hack of his choices. “But we also had to understand what’s exciting for collectors, what’s a good representation of the work of that photographer, as well as how it’s interesting in terms of their canon.” Each photograph is being offered until October 15 in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Online sale, with 100 per cent of the hammer price being donated to the organisation.

Coinciding with London Frieze Week, Blue Marine – a charity dedicated to protecting the ocean and tackling overfishing – has partnered with Christie’s on Blue: Art for the Ocean, a philanthropic initiative taking place during the auction house’s 20th/21st Century Art Marquee Week sales in October 2024. “We are thrilled to present these wonderful works of art, donated so generously by leading artists from around the world,” says Clare Brook, CEO of Blue Marine Foundation. “By protecting the ocean, we are protecting our biggest climate ally. With your support, we can make a profound difference to returning the oceans to health.”

Photographs for Blue: Art for the Ocean, curated by Jefferson Hack, is online until 15 October 2024. The works are available to buy here.