David Bowie: Creating a Visual Persona

Markus Klinko’s photographs of David Bowie are often seen together, but they come from two different projects. The first was the session for the cover of Heathen, photographed in New York in 2001. The second, in 2002, was a cover story for British GQ’s Man of the Year issue. Telling them apart matters: the date of a photograph is the date of its making, not the year in which a print or an edition was produced.

Heathen: an image built on Bowie’s concept

Klinko has recalled that Bowie invited him to his recording studio in November 2001, where Bowie and producer Tony Visconti played him tracks from the album that were not yet fully mixed. The session followed within a few days. Bowie arrived with a precise idea for the cover — a blind figure, a man who no longer believes in the rules of religion or politics — and with references drawn from Man Ray.

The cover was unveiled on April 15, 2002, ahead of the album’s June release on ISO/Columbia. The announcement credited the picture to Markus Klinko and his partner Indrani, who carried out the post-production work on the eyes; the British designer Jonathan Barnbrook created the typeface for the sleeve.

Once the cover image was secured, the session continued in a looser register: Klinko describes Bowie as fast and playful, moving on after a few frames. Photographs in our selection from this session include David Bowie, Heathen, David Bowie, Meditation and David Bowie, Smoking.

GQ: Bowie among the wolves

Some four or five months later, British GQ asked Klinko for a cover with Bowie. Bowie was not available for a new shoot, so Klinko proposed a photographic composition: a body model, cast for his build and attitude, was photographed with three wolves brought to the studio by their trainer, and Bowie’s face came from the existing session. Bowie approved the idea, and the magazine disclosed how the images had been made.

The wolf photographs are therefore dated 2002, the year of their creation, even though Bowie’s features were photographed in 2001. They include David Bowie, The Pack, David Bowie, Natural Villains and David Bowie, The Protector.

Two projects, one visual persona

Side by side, the two projects show different ways of building an image of Bowie: a concept he brought to the studio for his own album, and a staged composition devised for a magazine when he could not be there. Both continue to circulate today, in exhibitions and as photographic prints.

Explore the David Bowie photographs in our selection, or discover Markus Klinko’s work at Markowicz Fine Art.

Sources: “‘Heathen’ Sleeve Unveiled”, davidbowie.com, April 15, 2002; The Malestrom, interview with Markus Klinko, October 13, 2019; LICHT FELD Gallery, Markus Klinko exhibition; Us Weekly, interview published July 23, 2026.