Viviane Sassen: Pikin Slee, ICA

If you want to combat the cold with some photography of warmer climes this winter, the ICA exhibition of acclaimed fashion photographer Viviane Sassen is just the ticket. Pikin Slee at the ICA London takes its name from the second-largest village on the Upper Suriname River, deep within the Surinamese rainforest in Suriname where Sassen travelled in 2013. While Sassen can normally be found shooting award-winning Stella McCartney and Adidas campaigns, she was fascinated by the Saramacca community who live in isolation from the outside world, without running water, electricity, roads or the internet.
The exhibition consists of black and white, and colour works shot on an analogue camera during Sassen’s recent trip. And while her images are stark and vivid, there is an appealing simplicity to them.
What makes the work standout from other London travel photography exhibitions is Sassen’s ability to capture the elusive beauty of the everyday, combined with her profound understanding of her subject. It’s no wonder that she’s been able to succeed where many other photographers’ have failed: achieving parallel critical acclaim as a fashion and fine art photographer.
There's plenty going on at the ICA in 2015, click here for our highlights.