LaChapelle’s early works are satirical, outrageous, and bizarre. In some of his most popular photographs, such as the ‘Jesus is my Homeboy’ (2003) series, LaChapelle places well-known characters in unusual settings—in this case, depicting Jesus amongst marginalised and demonised social groups. Even though LaChapelle had a significant impact on fine-art photography through his signature mix of colour with conceptual imagery, today he is mostly associated with his iconic celebrity photoshoots and directing music videos for pop stars.
Working with Elton John, Lady Gaga, Hillary Clinton, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Madonna, LaChapelle’s lurid, grotesque images, together with their high-end production, became his trademarks. Influenced by both Pop Art and Surrealism, they defined image-making in our time.
Good News and Biblical Imagery
In 2006, after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and years of being convinced that he had AIDS, LaChapelle left his homes in New York and Los Angeles and moved to Maui, leaving pop stars and fashion magazines behind. No longer interested in shooting commercial photo shoots, he turned to topics such as spiritualism and the power of nature. In ‘Paradise’ (2009—2015), controversy meets religious symbolism, pointing to what matters to the artist today—nature and peace of mind.
Although he no longer works 14-hour days, he occasionally agrees to photograph celebrities whom he finds interesting, seen for example in his 2020 cover shoot with Lizzo for Rolling Stone. His photos continue to be provocative, spiritual, and sexual. He has photographed Kanye West as Christ, Michael Jackson as an angel, and Kim Kardashian as Mary Magdalene. A Christ-like figure also graces the cover of his 2017 book Good News, which moves beyond the material world in a search for a lost paradise.
Nudity and Amanda Lepore
LaChapelle’s hyper-saturated, pop cultural works often reflect on the nature of fame, celebrity, and power, infused with pulsating sexual energy and explicit nudity. Gender never really mattered to him. Amanda Lepore, a transgender American model, whom LaChapelle photographed as Andy Warhol’s Marilyn (1962), has been one of his greatest muses and inspirations. Both Lepore and LaChapelle are all about boundary-breaking: be it the boundary between female and male, or between fashion and art.
