An acclaimed photographer, publisher and film director with a mischievous eye, Rankin established himself internationally by founding the breakthrough magazine Dazed & Confused with his business partner Jefferson Hack in 1991. For Destroy / Rankin, over 70 of the world’s biggest musicians and visual artists have created a new body of artwork based on Rankin’s iconic portraits of musicians.

Asked to “destroy” the photographs, artists including Michael Stipe, U2, The Gossip, Beck, Jarvis Cocker, Debbie Harry, Kylie Minogue, Basement Jaxx, Goldfrapp, and Marianne Faithfull have created a portfolio of deeply personal reflections on their music and images. This unique body of collaborative art ranges from paintings and drawings to collage. While some of the musicians have “destroyed” the artwork themselves, others have worked with visual artists such as Damien Hirst, Mat Collishaw, and Douglas Gordon with whom they have collaborated.

Destroy / Rankin also contains five essays on the relationship between art and music that feature the perspectives of included artists as well as key cultural commentators such as Mike Figgis, Peter Saville, Beth Ditto, Miranda Sawyer and Rankin himself. This limited edition book also includes a 30-minute DVD with behind the scenes shoot footage, providing a rare insight in to Rankin’s work and creative process.

Destroy / Rankin is a reflection on the brilliant music portraiture of one of the world’s leading photographers. The book is published by Youth Music, the UK’s largest music charity for young people, to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The launch accompanies Youth Music Week 2009, which will take place at the renowned auction house Phillips de Pury & Company from November 9 – 14, 2009.