Michael Jackson moonwalked to Mozart’s "Requiem" as Arno Bani’s shutter clicked. Sometimes pensive, sometimes smiling serenely, the King of Pop opened himself to the young French photographer. Bani even took the liberty of having Jackson’s hair cut short because he "liked him that way." Afterward, Jackson let it grow back out. "He really didn’t like his own face," Bani said. "With longer hair, he could hide it."
Eleven years since the intimate session, one of the few artistic collaborations ever initiated by the singer, four striking series of photographs will go on the auction block in Paris on December 13.

"We were like two boys playing on the floor, putting puzzles together," said Bani, greeting ARTINFO France in his northern Paris apartment for a talk about the never-before-seen photographs that are today unveiled to the world. "I was a kid then, but he was ten times the kid I was. I would bring glitter pots and he would stick his finger in them and watch how it sparkled. We would spread it everywhere. The fashion design folders were like toy catalogs to him." He added, "Michael Jackson wasn’t just asking me to take pictures. He wanted me to build him a look for the next ten years."

Surrounding the pair was Jackson’s entourage of artistic directors, clutching notepads, scribbling down whether the King of Pop liked the blue glitter better than the red. "It was the world in which he lived," Bani said, "like seeing him in his little golden prison, discovering. He was extremely curious and cultured, but always humble, respectful, and kind. He would jump on the couch and clap when he fell in love with a new detail. He would give me hugs and bow with his hands together, Japanese-style. I had to ask him to stop thanking me, but I was really very touched."

The project came about by chance. Michael Jackson had spotted a fashion shot by Bani on the cover of the Sunday Times style section and immediately decided that he wanted to work with the young photographer. At first, Bani thought someone was prank calling him, before his lawyer friend confirmed that the King of Pop was inviting him for an audience. Bani would make six return trips to New York ahead of the three-day shoot.