Sheila Rock
A quiet observer of the punk movement as it exploded in the 70s, photographer Sheila Rock captured the emerging trend before the bands—from The Clash to Siouxsie and the Banshees—made it big. Ahead of her exhibition and the launch of her photo book “Punk+” at Agnés B., she tells Evelyn Lok about her introduction to the world of punk, and her thoughts on the next big social movement.
HK Magazine: What was your gateway to the punk music and fashion world?
Sheila Rock: David Bowie. I was invited to go on the first American David Bowie tour, around the time of Ziggy Stardust. My ex-husband, Mick Rock, was a photographer and he was covering it. I was introduced to this madcap, amazing, strange group of people. When I came back to London, it was just the very, very beginning [of punk].
HK: What inspired you to take photographs?
SR: The genesis of punk was from just three shops, less than half a mile apart: “Sex,” a concept store, before the idea of “concept” existed. It was very dark, they had provocative poetry written on the walls—it was very artistic and extraordinary. The other shop was “Acme Attractions,” which was more 60s. This was where I met Billy Idol and Siouxsie. The owner had some sort of sniff in the air that punk was something new. A few weeks later, he opened up this shop called “Boy”—the back of the walls were completely burnt, and the shop front was designed to look like a boy had died in the shop, displaying his body parts. In those days, a store was a store, but this was something else going on. So I started to photograph it.
HK: How did it go from a couple of stores to a full-fledged movement?
SR: Punk started to harbor young people’s love for music. People started customizing their clothes, getting badges from the hardware store, putting eyeliner on and buying dog collars. It was a blank canvas, and it was very do-it-yourself. Then there was this more sophisticated crowd [who came along], and it became more more structured and slick—mohair sweaters, plastic jeans.
HK: What do you think is the next big thing?
SR: I wish I had a crystal ball! Young people walking around as punks now are copying a time from 30 years ago. And that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with harking back to older times, but this will never happen again. Back in those days, young people really had to hunt for a look. Nowadays, everything is easily available online.