By Order of the Peaky Blinders

This photograph is an unapologetic nod to Steven Knight’s
hugely popular 1920s British gangster series Peaky Blinders.
With satanic chimneys belching smoke and cobbles awash with
industrial grime, the period drama brought hellish industrial UK
into our living rooms but did it with an admirable swagger and
aesthetic genius. The anomaly of Peaky Blinders is that
cinematography made hell look attractive. My creative leaning was
to twist the narrative a little. Cillian Murphy owned every scene
in the series, but what if the leader of the gang was a woman?
Most of the women in the series were depicted either as objects
of lust or familial loyalty rather than agents of their own destiny.
In my mindset, there was only girl for the role – the irrepressible
force of nature that is Cara Delevingne. She owns this scene, just as
Cillian did in the series, and that says it all. There was a big cast
that day and everyone played their role. It only takes one person to
kill the vibe, and that evening everyone did a grand Peaky Blinders
job. Maybe some of my extras have missed their vocation in life.