The premise was simple: ten of Australasia's top photographers were asked to reinterpret their favourite Helmut Newton photograph in any way they liked.
The results require some statistical information. Of the ten photos, four featured full frontal nudity, five featured breasts, three featured topless girls with breasts obscured from view, two featured wild animals (a crocodile and a bear – alongside or ridden by a nude or scantily clad model), three featured Australian next big thing model Louise Van de Vorst, and one featured a mangina.!
The photographs were auctioned off with all proceeds going to the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, (Helmut's wife June is a strong supporter of the AIDS cause).
Although the auctioneer had a tough task ahead of him with the hundreds of people in attendance all deciding to talk at once.
A whopping $10395 was raised for the cause, with the highest price going for Derek Henderson's image of Louise Van de Vorst lying alongside a grizzly bear – it caused a bidding frenzy among the men and eventually sold for $2000.
"The New Zealand AIDS Foundation is delighted that Stolen Girlfriends Club has raised over $10,000 for HIV prevention work." said Simon Harger-Forde, National Manager, HIV Prevention and Communications. "Not only did the event raise funds and awareness but also provided Aucklanders with the opportunity to buy photographs of such pedigree."
Stolen Girlfriends Club would like to thank all the artists that donated their images for the auction: Derek Henderson, David Shields, Karen Inderbitzen-Waller, Steve King, Steven Chee, Ben Sullivan, Imogene Barron, Barney McDonald & Thom Kerr.
Special thanks to event sponsors: 42below, MINI, Big Colour, Red Bull, Steinlager Pure, Whitecliff Wines, MAC, Ryder Salon & The Helmut Newton Foundation.
