David Cronenberg photographed

seconds to explode.) His dystopian vision of the world has been unremitting. The morality tale Videodrome (1983) was ahead of its t ime i n sensing the hidden dangers when reliance on new technology becomes an obsession. In

Dead Ringers (1988) his twin gynaecologists descend into drug addiction and madness. That he should tackle both the nihilism of Wil l iam Burroughs - in

Naked Lunch (1991) - and the apocalyptic prescience of J.G. Bal lard - in Crash (1996) - s hould come as no surprise.

Photographer and filmmaker Francesco Carrozzini’s portrait of Cronenberg coincided with the release of his 20th f ilm, A Dangerous Method (2011), which tackled the psychoanalysis of Freud and Jung.

It was announced earlier this year that in September, at the Venice Film Festival, Cronenberg wil l be honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement i n f ilm. Reacting to news of t he accolade Cronenberg replied: “The Golden Lion of Venice. A lion that f lies on golden wings - that’s the essence of art, isn’t it? The essence of cinema. It will be almost unbearably thrilling to receive a Golden Lion of my own.”