Ryan McGinley Wandering Comma

On the occasion of Ryan McGinley Wandering Comma, his first exhibition in London since his stunning Moonmilk series, he has put together seven new photographs, among others, in the largest format he has ever shown before. As he says, this exhibition is about size and with McGinley's work, which blazed its way to the forefront of photography. He famously shot and filmed Tilda Swinton for her ad campaign for Pringle of Scotland and a stunningly memorable shoot, early on, starring Kate Moss. In 2003, he became one of the youngest artists to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York with The Kids Are Alright. Deliciously blurring the lines between what is real and what might not be, his work has influenced photography tremendously with an aesthetic that, while feels modern, could be the epitome of timelessness. Here, AnOther caught up with McGinley ahead of his exhibition at the Alison Jacques Gallery to discuss the band GIRLS, chaos and the fantastic artists that he adores.

What is the most beautiful thing, idea or concept you've seen this year?
The most beautiful album this year is Father Son Holy Ghost by the band GIRLS. I've listened to it at least a thousand times. My favorite songs on it are Die and Jamie Marie.

What did you learn about yourself while working on this exhibition?
This exhibition is about size. It's about experiencing a photograph at a very large scale. Being overwhelmed by its color or it's larger than life magnitude. The seven works in the show are all the largest format I work in. I rarely produce my artworks this large (280 x 180 cm.) I only do so when the photograph truly calls for a vast canvas.

"I have the word penis tattooed very large inside my bottom lip. I always have a big penis in my mouth"

What is something you would like people to know about you that they don't know?
I have the word penis tattooed very large inside my bottom lip. I always have a big penis in my mouth.

How important is optimism to you in these works? How do you think it does or would affect them?
I find optimism is in chaos or the unexpected. The title of the show feels optimistic. Wandering Comma refers to a kind of fluttering butterfly.

What is exciting you at the moment?
The artist Marc Hundley's artwork. His fabricated advertisements or posters, postcards, flags and T-shirts. He just had an amazing exhibition at Team Gallery called Joan Baez Is Alive. He has a wonderful new book called Weaverbird published by Rainoff books. I've been going out to Los Angeles to the Oh Wow Gallery. It just opened this year and has had some amazing exhibitions. I spend a lot of time looking through art books at store Karma in the West Village in downtown NY. They also have their own publishing press and are making beautiful books with some of my favorite artists like Dash Snow and Bjarne Melgaard. Dawn Mellor's paintings fascinate me. She has a new book of drawings she made of Michael Jackson from when she was in High School that are mind blowing.

Ryan McGinley Wandering Comma runs until December 22 at Alison Jacques Gallery in London.

Text by Michael Kowalinski