Yorgos Lanthimos Photography at Mack + Webber

Opening in Los Angeles, a city that itself feels weird and distant from the absurd Grecian worlds this director’s characters fall into, is a new exhibition from Yorgos Lanthimos. You know that man better for the depraved magic he spins on the big screen: the masochistic Kinds of Kindness, or the playfully grim Poor Things, or—for the truly messed up folks—his classic Dogtooth. But behind the scenes of these films, Lanthimos’s peculiar vision stretches into photography as well. Yorgos Lanthimos Photographs, taking place at MACK + Webber 939 in LA, gathers a handful of his greatest hits.

These are shots from the sets of Kinds of Kindness and Poor Things, two of his most recent projects, starring his go-to collaborators Emma Stone and Margaret Qualley. But they won’t be mistaken as promotional shots for the films they feature: one of Stone from Poor Things sees her swathed in a pouffed soft gown, her face veiled, only she’s holding a disposable coffee cup. Another from the same shoot seems to capture the destruction of the set after the shoot wrapped.

There’s a peculiar spirit in these photographs, which were lifted from two books: i shall sing these songs beautifully (2024), published by MACK, and Dear God, the Parthenon is Still Broken (2024), published by Void. His protagonists often seem to reject the presence of the camera: head jerked downwards, gazing into the distance, facing a wall, or––in the case of one of a crash dummy––are face down in the dirt. They are tied to the shoots of his films, recognisable only through costuming or sets, imbuing the images with a sense of dream-like familiarity.

They can be seen on a larger scale, in the flesh, at Mack + Webber 939 (939 S. Santa Fe Avenue Los Angeles 90021) from 29 March – 24 May 2025. But if you’re further afield, check a handful out below.

a woman in a dress in a forest facing sharply down in black and white photograph by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

yorgos lanthimos photography of a destructed film set — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

margaret qualley behind the scenes of poor things in a black and white image shot by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

legs in bloomers resting against a patterned wall in a photograph by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

yorgos lanthimos photograph of emma stone looking away from a camera behind a bed in kinds of kindness — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

a woman behind a pillar looks off into the distance by a road in a black and white image by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

black and white photo of a woman lying down on mud by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

high-heeled feet behind a car door in a black and white image by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

hong chau in a kitchen in a behind the scenes photograph from kinds of kindness by yorgos lanthimos — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024. Courtesy Yorgos Lanthimos / MACK.

Yorgos Lanthimos Photographs is open at 939 from 29 March – 24 May. i shall sing these songs beautifully (2024) is published by MACK and Dear God, the Parthenon is Still Broken (2024) is published by Void.