Juno Calypso, Slouch, 2019. Courtesy of TJ Boulting.
Photo London, the British capital’s leading photography fair, kicks of tomorrow, running through to Sunday at Somerset House. Now in its fifth edition, the fair presents a wide variety of photography, ranging from well known galleries to publishing houses, from auction houses to major museums. From the photos set to be exhibited at this year’s fair — such as Juno Calypso’s gorgeous candy-pink toned bedroom scenes, or Mary McCartney’s tender monochromatic studies of ballet dancers — we spotted at trend: the art of intimacy. Here, we’ve collected the most compelling photos that explore the body, human relationships and self-reflection from the exhibiting galleries.
Mary McCartney —Ballerina in Sink, London, 2004.
As part of the 2019 Pavillion Commission, this year’s fair will be presenting a compelling series of ballet dancers, entitled Off Pointe, by Mary McCartney. The series depicts Royal Ballet dancers in candid moments of getting-ready, casting a light on the often gruelling regime that they are expected to adhere to. McCartney lenses intimate close-ups of the dancers’ damaged feet, for example, or as in this picture, a private incident of self-care.
Nan Goldin — Misty at home in her mirror NYC, 1991
Gallery Sophie Scheidecker will be exhibiting a retrospective exhibition of the works of Nan Goldin. Goldin’s images offer an intimate documentation of both herself and the the LGBTQ+ community, exploring politically and socially-charged subject matters including the HIV crisis in the ’80s and more recently, the opioid epidemic. Using photography as a medium through which to capture the most vulnerable and intimate moments of the human experience, the artist found a sense of catharsis behind the lens. “For me it is not a detachment to take a picture. It’s a way of touching somebody — it’s a caress,” she has said of her craft.
Alix Marie — Mammography, 2015
London-based artist Alix Marie uses a combination of close-up photography and sculpture to interrogate the artificial representation of the body. She frequently works with family and friends to create tender studies that emphasise the body as a site of closeness and connection. For Photo London, Roman Road will be presenting a number of works that investigate the body in all its raw detail, such as Mammography — a ghostly rendering of a woman’s breast.
Elisabeth Hase — Badeszenen, c. 1932-33
The New York Gallery will be presenting work by the German photographer Elizabeth Hase. Largely unknown outside of her home country, Hase is best known for her works that examine and critique gender roles and personal identity. In this stirring self-portrait, she gives the viewer access to a private moment, but one that is filled with verve and an intensely outward expression of energy.
Juno Calypso — Stretch, 2017
London-based gallery TJ Boulting presents works by Juno Calypso — one of the most exciting photographers working today. Working on her own, Calypso assumes exaggerated personas in candy-hued, ‘70s style mise-en-scènes to explore the darker sides of femininity. In her images at Photo London, Calypso showcases intimate, peek-a-boo semi-nudes in a pink satin bedroom setting that hint at secrets and private, feminine desire.
Max Pinckers — from the series Margins of Excess, 2018
Max Pinckers is an award-winning artist based in Brussels, working predominantly in documentary photography. For Photo London, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde in Antwerp will showcase Pinckers’ 2018 series, Margins of Excess, which explores the conflict between personal imagination and socially acceptable beliefs through the narratives of six individuals, who were at some point praised in the media for following their dreams and subsequently outed as frauds. Pinckers uses techniques such as brightly-lit portraiture and deliberate staging to question the reality of the scene — even in a tender moment such as above.
Gabriele Basilico — Contact, 1984
Amongst the works that Milan-based gallery Valeria Bella will be presenting, is this oddly compelling — and humorous — comparison between human buttocks and chairs by the late Italian photographer Gabriele Basilico. Through the repetitive but varying shapes, the multitudes of difference and likenesses are made apparent both in the inanimate and animate forms.
Maisie Cousins — Flesh, 2019
Along with Juno Calypso, TJ Boulting gallery will be presenting works by London-based artist Maisie Cousins. Cousins’ distinctive compositional style juxtaposes the absurd and grotesque with intimate and sensual visual metaphors. Her images present strange colourful close-ups of rotting foodstuff, flowers and flesh, all mingled together with jellied substances and visceral slimes. Ultimately, her works suggest a new articulation of intimacy between what is beautiful and what is ugly, and what can be consumed.
Jessa Fairbrother — Coordinate XIII, 2019
London institution The Photographer’s Gallery will present a unique collection of works by Bristol-based photographer, Jessa Fairbrother. Fairbrother’s Constellations and Coordinates series feature distinctive colour portraits that are punctuated by needle perforations — a style that the artist has employed throughout her work. Nude, faceless figures are suspended in fluid poses and adorned with hand-embroidered floral designs and needle patterns, re-inventing the body as a near-celestial site of beauty and decoration.
Rad Husak — Mirrored Decline, 2018
Based in London, Polish-born artist Rad Husak’s work plays with the inherent contrasts that exist in nature — between beauty and revulsion, order and chaos. The artist’s figurative works combine the aesthetics of the classical nude deriving from Grecian sculptures with elements of 20th century pop culture. Transforming aluminium canvases through sand blasting to remove the outer metallic layers, Husak creates imperfections and blurred edges that exacerbate the tensions and movements, inner emotions and energies of the body. Husak’s works will be on display at Dellasposa Gallery in London Paddington.