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The Guy Bourdin exhibition at The Wapping Project is a must-see.

"The guest list is going in to the hundreds of thousands!" exclaims Jules Wright, co-curator of the Guy Bourdin exhibition whose opening party is held tonight. "I've just got off the phone to Mario Testino, and you can't say no to him. And now Bryan Ferry says he wants to come..." she shrugs and smiles.

Unseen Guy Bourdin, a collection of 32 of the late Parisien's pieces, are being shown for the first time outside the context of the Estate Guy Bourdin at the Wapping Project in London, of which Wright is director. A mixture of fashion editorials, adverts and private commissions, what also sets the exhibition apart is that the pictures have been printed in a larger size (roughly 43 1/2 by 60 inches) than their original showcase of fashion magazines (Bourdin never exhibited within his lifetime) and have been made from the original transparencies by legendary New York printer Pascal Dangin. They are for sale, although at about 20 grand a pop, there'll be a lot of people who are just window shopping. No wonder le tout London wants an invite.

Bourdin is as famous for his controversial content as he is for his unique compositions and colour contrasts, which, created as they were before the advent of digital photography, are remarkably sophisticated.

The images are so compelling, believes Wright, because they invite the viewer into a narrative. "What happened before? What comes next?" She asks, pointing to an image of a redhead lying atop a raspberry pink satin duvet, a damp face towel covering her breasts (pictured). She looks feverish yet sated, as if she has just been ravaged by a voracious lover.

Many of the images feature Nicolle Meyer, the muse Bourdin photographed between 1977 and 1980. Most famously, she appeared in his adverts for shoe designer Charles Jourdan, whose saucy content (Meyer bending into a car window, reminiscent of a - very pretty - prostitute) ensured the success of the collaboration which went on to last for 14 years.

Was Bourdin a misogynist? "Having met Nicolle, I would say no," says Wright. "She reiterates constantly how gentle and polite he was with her. But he was playing with our psyches constantly."

Comparisons with that other photographer also accused of misogyny, Helmut Newton, spiral around Bourdin, although "Newton's images are easier to read", according to photographer Thomas Zanon-Larcher, the exhibition's co-curator. "Like Newton, Bourdin worked in the realm of fantasies, although Bourdin's images were more complicated than Newton's," concurs Jules. "When I look at Newton's pictures, I'm reminded of men looking through a hole at a peep-shoe, whereas with Bourdin he is involved in the creation of his images and not standing back from them."

Unseen Guy Bourdin is at the Wapping Project 9 May - 4 July 2009

thewappingproject.com

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