Elton John poses with skull as Frieze London brings Polaroids, Lego and floating rocks
Elton John posed with a skull balanced on his shoulder for an instant Polaroid portrait in Mayfair, London. The photograph was taken by UK artist Miles Aldridge. It was made during Frieze London week, according to The Art Newspaper diary published on 16 Oct 2026.
Aldridge set up a pop-up studio as part of the Mount Street Neighbourhood Arts Festival in Mayfair. Members of the public were invited to sit for Polaroids, instant prints that develop within minutes, against a specially designed orange backdrop. Sitters could pose with feather boas, teacups and retro telephones in the manner of Andy Warhol, the American artist known for celebrity portraits.
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan sat for one take and then left quickly. Aldridge photographed John with the skull prop. Aldridge is the son of Alan Aldridge, the art director and illustrator who designed album covers for John including the 1975 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy sleeve. London slots were all taken. Aldridge was due to restage the project in Paris timed to Art Basel Paris, the French capital's major fair for modern and contemporary art.
Frieze London 2026 runs from 14 to 18 October at The Regent's Park in London, alongside Frieze Masters, its sister fair for older art. In the Deutsche Bank lounge at Frieze London, visitors found Ojala, an installation by the artist known as Studio Lenca. Handmade Salvadoran hammocks, slung fabric beds from Central America, hold what look like heavy volcanic rocks in the air. Studio Lenca told The Art Newspaper the boulders are scanned copies of real stones from El Salvador remade in a lightweight material.
In Knightsbridge, London, Leah Wood presented a show of colourful works at the Pavilion venue. The display examines the role nature plays in city life. Wood is the daughter of model Jo Wood and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.
At the 1-54 Contemporary African Art fair in London, the Elephant Gallery stand showed Maame Wata, The Wise by Ghanaian-Canadian artist Ekow Nimako. The work depicts a female deity made entirely from shiny black Lego pieces, the interlocking plastic bricks. It draws on Mami Wata, a water deity honoured across Africa and the African diaspora, and includes armour plating, a spiky crown and spear-tipped coiling tentacles. Nimako said he wanted the figure to feel menacing as well as powerful, with a childlike quality, and said every part is standard-issue Lego.
Also at 1-54, Michael Graham-Stewart's 50:50 Special Projects stand showed a tall wooden tribute to Queen Victoria. The diary lists the item under the heading Queen Victoria lets it all hang out.
What makes this stand out is the range on view at once. Five-minute portraits sit beside hammock-held rocks and a brick-built deity across a single week in London.
