Rihanna and the Snake

GQ UK marked its 25th anniversary by putting Rihanna on the cover naked, holding a snake. Damien Hirst shot it. I’m not sure what he was thinking—what the snake represented to him, what he was trying to work through. But I spent most of the time just looking at it.

There’s something about Rihanna I’ve always loved, and this shot has it in full measure: this ease, this complete unselfconsciousness in front of the camera. No performance, no defense, just there. And I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous of that snake. It gets to be wrapped around her like that, gets to be that close to it all.

The issue came out on Halloween. Fitting, somehow—something beautiful and something dangerous wrapped up together.