The Estate of Mick Rock and Hypergallery are thrilled to announce a collaboration between photographer Mick Rock and artist Ioannis, to be published in honour of Freddie Mercury on his birthday, September 5.
A limited edition, signed (Ioannis), numbered and Estate Stamped (The Estate of Mick Rock) print will be available for one month only. Pre-orders from Hypergallery open August 29 with a huge discount for anyone ordering before the launch on September 5. Orders will close on October 5.
As Queen strike a record-breaking deal to sell their back catalogue, and Paramore pay tribute to the band’s infamous performance at London’s Wembley Stadium, a collaboration embarked upon together by Mick Rock and Ioannis finally sees the light of day with an edition of prints published by Hypergallery, a boutique print publisher based in Henley-on-Thames, UK.
Celebrated rock photographer Mick Rock and renowned album cover artist Ioannis first met at the offices of music management giants, Leber-Krebs Inc. Ioannis was already a fan of Mick’s work, first discovered through his love of Queen. He spotted Mick arriving to present his ideas for the Scorpions’ new album and asked Paul O’Neill to introduce him. They went on to work together on several projects, art directed by Ioannis: Jonny Winter, Fates Warning and the Extreme album Pornograffiti.
The final ‘Freddie’ edition has been meticulously overseen by artist Ioannis, in honour of his dear friend and in fulfilment of their artistic vision.
“It’s just about two friends working on something creatively. It’s about the experience more than anything else.” – Ioannis.
“Freddie was fascinating. You know, you wake up 30 years later, and you realize that in the purest terms he had the greatest voice to come out of rock’n’roll. I was very fond of him.” – Mick Rock
‘Freddie’ is a small edition of only 60, produced by esteemed art print studio Visual Impact, based in Connecticut, USA.
These truly rare collectibles will be available exclusively through Hypergallery online for one month only, in celebration of Mercury’s birthday.
This is a time-limited chance to add a unique and highly collectable piece of (Mick) Rock history to your walls. Pre-launch price £480 / Published price £900.
For further details, head to hypergallery.com.
Things people have said about Ioannis:
“One of the top modern day album cover artists for prog metal – as well as good old fashioned metal and classic rock – has to be Ioannis. Having worked with the likes of Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Quiet Riot, Sepultura, Allman Brothers, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, his legendary art has reached through a wide variety of metal sub-genres.” – Greg Prato, BraveWords
Things people have said about Mick Rock:
“Mick just doesn’t shoot bands, he creates art.” – Ioannis
“Mick shot one of the greatest album covers, one of the greatest shots, in rock history.” – Ioannis, talking about the Queen II album cover photograph
“He was a true artist and rock n’ roll prophet.” – Alison Mosshart
“Besides being a great photographer, Mick got access to everyone because he was such a sweetheart charming motherfcker.” – Chris Stein
“He was the original prototype for dynamic rock photographers; the blueprint from which all future sonic shooters were built. Why are so many of his images so familiar, unforgettable and historically important? He had a sharp eye, razor instincts and a velvet trigger finger. His sense of timing and frame, light and expression, were … otherworldly. But more significant, the artists felt comfortable in his disarming, flamboyant presence. Technically he may have been brilliant, but the real alchemy was that the rockers trusted him to get the shots.” – Lonn Friend