Melissa Auf der Maur to release “My '90s Rock Photographs” book in September
Melissa Auf der Maur, former bassist for iconic 1990s alternative rock bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, will release a new book, “My '90s Rock Photographs, ” on September 8 via DelMonico Books and the Art Gallery of Ontario. The book arrives alongside a companion exhibition of the same name at the Toronto gallery, opening September 2 and running through June 2027.
While touring the world with both bands, Auf der Maur documented life backstage, onstage and in the crowd, instinctively turning the camera on herself as the most intimately available subject — a practice shaped by her studies at Concordia University, where professor Raymonde April introduced her to the subjective self-portraits of Francesca Woodman. By the time she joined Hole for their “Live Through This” world tour, she was requesting a roll of 35mm film backstage at every venue. That daily practice, expanded through creative use of self-timers and cable releases to capture mid-performance snapshots, resulted in an archive of more than 10,000 photographs documenting the unguarded side of rock stardom — playing with Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain; hanging out with Pavement, Sonic Youth and Beck; riding in a limousine with Drew Barrymore; and idling on the set of Hole’s “Celebrity Skin” music video. Magazines including Spin commissioned her to document Lollapalooza 1995 and the 1996 Tibetan Freedom Concert.
From that archive of over 10,000 images, more than 200 photographs were selected for the book and exhibition, curated by Sophie Hackett and Jim Shedden of the Art Gallery of Ontario. The book features writing by Auf der Maur herself, alongside Ann Powers, Grace Elizabeth Hale, Kevin Moore and Michael Stipe. The AGO exhibition will also include an immersive installation titled “Bass Womb Room, ” featuring an original score by the artist.
Auf der Maur (born 1972) joined Hole for the “Live Through This” tour after a recommendation from Billy Corgan, who’d heard her play in indie band Tinker while opening for The Smashing Pumpkins. The tour began soon after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and Kristen Pfaff. She played on the Grammy-nominated album “Celebrity Skin, ” and after leaving Hole, joined The Smashing Pumpkins as bassist for their farewell tour from 1999 to 2000. Following the release of several solo albums, she moved to Hudson, New York, became a mother, and co-founded the multidisciplinary art center Basilica Hudson.
