Annie Leibovitz reveals why she took on commission for Ikea

The mega Swedish furniture chain Ikea announced its first artist in residence earlier this year—the surprise choice was (drum roll) the high-profile US photographer Annie Leibovitz who will travel this year to the UK, Japan, the US, Germany, Italy, India and Sweden, capturing normal people doing normal things in normal homes. “She will create a series of 25 portraits that illuminate the nuances of ‘life at home’, creating a powerful photographic document inspired by the Life at Home Report [Ikea's survey of 37,000 people across 37 countries],” says an Ikea statement. Leibovitz revealed the motives behind the project to Wallpaper magazine, saying: “I learned very early on in my portrait work that you should start with your subject at home because they're going to sit in a chair a certain way. You're going to see who they are at home. On some level, our homes are mirrors to ourselves,” says with a touch of candour. “In the same way that there has been a typical idea in the fashion industry about what size a woman should be, there's been a typical idea of what a home is,” she adds. Makes a refreshing change from the A-list celebs she usually captures on camera.