Elegantly Wasted

Elegantly Wasted
1996

Intro by Tina Hutchence

Michael and his manager I spoke to about the upcoming project for them. As I said, Micheael liked the Diesel images I did back in `93, specifically the car crash. He liked that my images felt like images out of a movie and the whole look and feel.

I listened to the music from Elegantly Wasted and it was the title song that inspired me the most. So I developed a concept for them with a fluorescent green and red car as a trademark for their record artwork. They appear in most of the images from the shoot. Each member of the band was to play a role in this concept with their own special outfits.
For Michael I had chosen the role of a former jet fighter and he was going to wear the jet fighter suit that I had often been wearing in London. His character was that of an ex pilot fighter who got a bit “lost in translation”. The girl that you see in most of the images was casted to take over Michaels role as the front figure. Michael didn´t want to have the leading role, he wanted to be more in background as one of the band members.

The shooting took place over 12 days in the LA area. It was planned more as a movie production then an ordinary record shoot. We were almost filming day and night and it seemed like we were all in character – in a sort of collective trance. We all were a part of it, even me as the director played my role. Michael was really into it. As I marketing stunt I suggested to have those fluorescent cars driving around key cities, like NYC and Paris on the day of the release of the record. In London a fluorescent car was hanging over the Thames from a crane. Michael was very enthusiastic about the project and by it all coming together. He later told me, it was his favourite shoot and it made him so happy.


Elegantly Wasted

An artist collaboration between PIERRE WINTHER and INXS, December 1996

In December 1994 Pierre Winther got introduced to Michael Hutchence in Copenhagen through Helena Christensen. Michael liked Pierre’s photographic work for Levi’s and Diesel campaigns and was specifically fascinated by his distinctive cinematic style and the Diesel “Car crash” image. Two years later, in 1996 Michael invited Pierre to London to work on the campaign shoot for INXS´s latest (and sadly last) album “Elegantly Wasted”. He created a concept with fluorescent cars as a trademark for their record album and a female guardian angel in the center of the visuals, to pursue Michael´s wish to replace his role as the front figure.

The shoot took place over 12 days in Downtown LA and Palmdal, a city located near the Mojave Desert within Los Angeles County – the same location where the TV series Breaking Bad got filmed 11 years later. It was rather planned as a movie production than an ordinary record shoot, portraying an excessive lifestyle, crashing sports cars, illuminated driveways, and a lot of fun within the absurd – with the members of the band playing each a different role. Michael´s character was that of an ex pilot fighter who got “lost in translation”, wearing a jet fighter suit on every image. Everyone of the band enjoyed the energy on set while staying in character during these days – in a sort of collective trance. Cast : Michael Hutchence, Gary Beers, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Tim Farriss, Kirk Pengilly and Laura von Lindholm ( “The Guardian Angel” )

As a marketing idea Pierre Winther came up with concept to have these fluorescent cars driving around in key cities, like NYC and Paris on the day of the record release. In London a fluorescent car was even hanging over the River Thames from a crane.

Book : My brother, lost boy of INXS

In late 1996 Michael came to LA to shoot the Elegantly Wasted cover with Danish photographer and director Pierre Winther. Winther´s work in advertising included a stuntman actually riding a big tiger shark at the Great Barrier Reef. They had met at Helena’s apartment in Copenhagen in 1994. “I felt an immediate connection – Michael an I simply clicked”, Pierre told me. “We shared a slightly sarcastic sense of humour. We were laughing about the same things. He was just also a very likeable person, very down to earth. Not how you’d expect a rock star to be. “I had a business card with an image from one of my Diesel campaigns on one side and the shark-riding image from my Levi’s campaign on the other side,” Pierre continued.”Michael really liked that they had the look of something out of a movie. So when we got together for the first official meeting in London… (read more: Michael – My brother, lost boy of INXS, a book by Tina Hutchence and Jen Jewel Brown.