Juergen Teller Creatively Used a Marijuana Factory to Shoot After Rihanna Cancelled on Him

Acclaimed fashion photographer Juergen Teller was scheduled to shoot Rihanna for System magazine’s ninth issue cover until the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter had to cancel due to doctor’s bedrest orders. Instead of calling off the entire photoshoot, Teller made the most of the unfortunate event, turning it into a gripping weed factory editorial titled “Waiting for Rihanna.” With Brazilian model Raquel Zimmerman stepping in and the help of a few nude hula-hoopers, the brilliant photoshoot revealed a 60,000-square-foot medical cannabis factory in Canada filled with nymphean vibes that indeed seems to be “Waiting for Rihanna.”

To get a glimpse of the unfolding of the event, DAZED magazine interviewed System magazine’s founding editor Elizabeth von Guttman on what it was like working with Juergen Teller and more:

What it was like being on set with Juergen, particularly when news of Rihanna being sick came last minute?
Elizabeth von Guttman: Initially, a mixture of disbelief and disorientation – heightened by the intense jet lag we were all experiencing. Most photographers would have got on a plane and gone home, but Juergen’s curiosity and desire to turn real-life situations into something to be photographed and explored and valued is almost stronger than him. To witness Juergen’s transformation of our collective vulnerability and desperation into a palpable energy and sense of new-found freedom was particularly impressive.

Is System best enjoyed while thoroughly blazed or is it for the sober of mind?
Elizabeth von Guttman: We are happy to embrace System’s contradictory nature: yes, it’s rather earnest, but we also accept that there’s a slightly dysfunctional or almost unhinged streak that makes it less easily defined. Still, perfectly coherent tends to be boring or lifeless. With this in mind, all mental states should be able to find something within its pages to stimulate them.

Read the full interview at DAZED.