Jordan at SEX, Sheila Rock. Image from cmj.com
For 40 years London has upheld a punk rock legacy that continues to inspire creatives even today. Currently on display, “From Punk to the English Sea” is the latest exhibition to borrow from the subculture. Shifting focus away from punk’s traditional narrative, photographer Sheila Rock removes each angsty subject from the stereotypical, resulting in images with increased subtlety. Each intimate portrait is a reflection on the individual’s attire and attitude – two of punk’s most essential elements.
Serving as Rock’s exuberant muse is punk icon Jordan, who is featured heavily in this exhibition. Following a chance meeting at SEX, the Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood owned boutique, Rock gushed, “Her look was her signature. I don’t remember much about her personality except that she seemed pretty quiet and self-contained.” Steering away from typical concert photography, Sheila Rock built a career around punk rock photos that offer a gentler, more subversive nature. Accompanying the portraiture is a selection from Rock’s recent project entitled “Tough and Tender”. Concentrating on English seaside towns, this new series is a long departure from the artist’s previous works. However, the calm black and white images still maintain a similar motif that can be found in her past series.
The biggest commonality in the American photographer’s work is her clear aim to document the lives of English people – what they do, how they behave and how they look. The only difference between the two projects is that one is an account of a fashionable subculture, while the other concentrates on a more ordinary society. Rock’s portraits reflect the “quiet politics” of the 21st Century, taking us on a journey from punk in 1977 to England in 2016.
Photographs featured in “Punk + -“. Images from we-heart.com and cmj.com
Tough and Tender, Sheila Rock. Images from theartsdesk.com
Tough and Tender, Sheila Rock. Images from theartsdesk.com
“Sheila Rock: From Punk to the English Sea” is on display at London’s CHELSEA space until 28 October 2016