The unassuming façades of London’s Kentish Town do not whisper that celebrities hide within. Yet this is where photographer Rankin has his studio. It is also where I find my triumvirate of interviewees: architect David Adjaye, contemporary artist Theaster Gates and rock legend Bono.
Adjaye and Gates are among the leading talents of their generation. The former’s creations include the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. Gates meanwhile is riding the crest of a wave that culminated this summer in his stunning show at Basel’s Kunstmuseum. Spiralling out of the symbol of the Black Madonna, Gates’ revisions of art, gender, history and music expelled from the institution every last gramme of Swiss stuffiness. Bono, lead singer and lyricist of U2, surely needs no further introduction.