It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Amy Winehouse’s death. Now, photographs shot during the recording of Back to Black have been selected by one of the icon’s closest collaborators, Phil Griffin, in celebration of her life.
Phil Griffin, Winehouse’s artistic counsel during the Back to Black album, reveals an intimate, never-before-seen portrait of Amy Winehouse in a new exhibition, Amy in the Light.
Griffin, who has collaborated with Prince, Jay-Z, and Black Grape, met Winehouse while working on her debut album, Frank. He went on to become one of Winehouse’s most trusted associates. Griffin believes that ten years after her departure, it’s time for people to look past the tragedy and focus on what she accomplished during her pressure-filled career.
In an interview with The Guardian, Griffin says,
He said: “I want there to be a positive flow of conversation about her. She’s not just a tragic figure but a human being who was incredibly talented. She was a girl with a story to tell and she wasn’t afraid to tell it.”
A Legacy Revisited
As the tenth anniversary of her death arrives, Winehouse’s life and legacy are being revisited. Griffin wants his friend and collaborator to be,
remembered as a “quiet beauty” who was also very vulnerable. “She was vulnerable because she wore her heart completely on her sleeve,”
Source: The Guardian
The photographs are stylistic and deeply personal, displaying some of Amy’s distinctive looks, including her beehive hairstyle and door-knocker earrings. The photographer says of his exhibit,
“When I thought about revisiting my work with Amy to mark this 10 years of life since her, it was with some trepidation… My relationship with Amy was gentle, not rock n roll, nor dramatic or chaotic at all. It was simple, I always felt protective, always felt close, even at a distance.”
Source: Dazed
Winehouse’s estate is also working on some fresh early recordings, a stage musical, and an official biopic. Griffin believes that some of his personal shots will help to establish a standalone image of the artist, moving the narrative away from the tabloid headlines and Winehouse’s untimely death.
Reclaiming Amy
Reclaiming Amy, a short, tragic and heartwarming film has also been released in memory of the star. The BBC film follows Amy Winehouse’s family and friends as they tell their side of the singer’s convoluted tale; ten years after her death at the age of 27. It’s narrated by Janis, her mother, and makes no attempt to disguise its purpose as a rebuttal to Asif Kapadia’s 2015 documentary Amy.
Seeing Stars in a New Light
Also within the Griffin catalogues is Britney: For the Record. Griffin directed this MTV documentary in 2008, which documents Britney Spears’ story and struggle with her public identity. Spears first approached Griffin after seeing his extensive works with Winehouse. In light of her ongoing conservatorship battle, the film is being distributed to Spears activists and people who want to see an end to the conservatorship – which has taken control of her personal life, business, and finances since 2008.
Amy in the Light is now open online and to the public at the Brownsword Hepworth Gallery, London SW3.
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