Petra Collins Releases a New Book Capturing the Horrors of Pop Stardom
Titled ‘STAR’ and published by Rizzoli.
Every internet girl’s favorite photographer and director, Petra Collins, is releasing a new book titled STAR with Rizzoli. In her most narrative project yet.
The photo book follows two totally fictional characters presented as pop icons, Ashley and Siren8, exploring the throes of fame and the line between fans and stalkers. Collins returns to her filmmaking background to capture obsession turning to violence, admiration turning into surveillance and life in the public eye. This is a poignant exploration of how everything may not always be as it seems.
To really hone in on the cinematic effect, Collins and her partner, musician Jake Nadrich, will also release an accompanying STAR soundtrack, marking her first foray into music.
The images were shot across two weeks in and out of Tokyo, building on Collins’ fascination with the pop star figure. Having lensed real-life pop princesses like Charli XCX and Olivia Rodrigo, the series sits within a whole lineage of other work exploring the realities of being a young woman on the global stage, including Perfect Blue, Love and Pop and All About Lily Chou-Chou.
The book also becomes almost meta, taking inspiration from Collins’ own fangirl experience since rising to stardom in her own right. “I’ve observed how the public treats these women,” she told W. “STAR is very much what I’ve observed the public be like for years — putting that into the storyline.”
Now with an expansive collection of campaigns, music videos and short films under her belt, Collins is set to premiere a feature film. We’re still waiting patiently for more details, but have been told that STAR is a “tiny taste” of what to expect.
Head to the Rizzoli website now to pre-order the book.
In other news, check out McQueen’s new campaign shot underwater.
