Rankin, a celebrity photographer who was once dubbed a “bad boy,” has matured since becoming a father and the Britpop heyday of the 2000s. The Glasgow-born creative talked about his rise from a working-class upbringing to the breathtaking heights of celebrity in an interview with the BBC.
“After my child was born and began to grow up, I worried a lot that I would have to strike a balance between having this amazing job where you do get paid extraordinary amounts.”
Rankin, whose full name is John Rankin Waddell, has supported a number of charities through his profile, including those that address plastic waste, women’s health issues, and NHS workers’ contributions.
His most recent project is a campaign for Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTi), where his photos are featured in the book “Tear Couture,” which attempts to raise awareness of the ongoing danger of acid attacks as a type of violence against women.
According to ASTi, an organization that has the Princess Royal as a patron, there are an estimated 10,000 attacks worldwide every year, the majority of which target women and children. The nonprofit discovered that a sizable fraction take place in South Asian nations with thriving jewelry and clothing industries.
According to anecdotal evidence, attacks utilizing corrosive liquids of nitric, sulfuric, and hydrochloric acid happen more frequently in areas where these substances are readily available and where factories use acids in their production processes.
In England and Wales, there were about 710 acid attacks last year—up from 421 in 2021—according to ASTi, which obtained the information by requesting Freedom of Information (FOI) from forty-three police departments.
