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Cost: Free!
Event website: www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pxid=954 The Dates
On Fri 17 July 09
until The VenueThe Photographers Gallery16 - 18 Ramillies StLondon W1F 7LW |
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Jacob Moss commented about 1 year ago
Exhibition Review:
When You’re a Boy: Men’s Fashion Styled by Simon Foxton.
Currently showing at The Photographers’ Gallery on Ramillies Street is this intriguing exhibition curated by ex SHOWstudio Editor in Chief Penny Martin. In a decisive move away from contextualising the display of fashion imagery from the photographers’ perspective, it is the stylist (Simon Foxton) whose role within the poly-creative practice of fashion photography who is recognized and in this case, celebrated. For the oeuvre of a singular fashion stylist to be highlighted in this particular show brings a fresh curatorial approach to the interpretation of fashion within the Museum/Gallery environment whilst acknowledging the stylist’s continued ascendance to a position of undeniable authority within the fashion arena.
With a career spanning three decades, Foxton’s intrinsic awareness of Male sexuality sets him apart within the field of Menswear styling. Tackling socio-cultural themes related to masculinity with sartorial elegance and precision, his desire to explore and decode what it means to be a Man within the ephemeral stratum of contemporary fashion is played out via a body of collaborative work that is showcased in part through this exhibition.
Highlights include a collaborative project titled ‘Strictly Series’. Shot by fashion photographer Jason Evans, ‘Strictly’ presents an engaging and provocative counterpoint to the studio based selections. Outside of the constructed environs of the photographer’s studio, Foxton’s eye is put to interesting use. Setting young black Men (who lack the self assurance of professional models) within suburban exteriors, the sartorial elements begin to take on significance. Foxton presents young Men- clearly disenchanted- yet whose nonchalant gazes and machismo affectations seek to portray otherwise. Dressed in quintessentially British heritage based tailoring, these real-life characters set against bleak landscapes breathe life into the clothes and raise questions surrounding ethnicity, belonging, and acceptance in modern day Britain.
Also warranting attention, though rather haphazardly placed, are several of the portraits Foxton has collaborated on during his career as stylist. In particular, one image shot by Simon Thiselton titled ‘We Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet’ stands out amongst the milieu. Wearing a contour skimming washed denim jumpsuit, the pose is deliberately exaggerated, accentuating the arched back and muscular curves of the Afro-Caribbean Male physique. A collection of hankies spilling forth from the back pocket clearly allude to a fashion code that signifies preferred sexual activity within the gay community.
Foxton is at his most playful when styling in collaboration with the fashion photographer Nick Knight. Their symbiotic relationship is accordingly represented and includes an attention grabbing triptych of large-scale images. With their garish Day-Glo backgrounds, these snapshots of mid 1980’s ‘street fashion’ trends still make for a visually arresting (although somewhat dated) commentary on masculinity and the embodied fashion identities of Britain’s diverse subcultures. Utilizing an assortment of sartorial accoutrements (jockstraps, studs, and army fatigues) typically associated with the constructed fashion identities of Gay Men, Foxton subverts these potent homoerotic symbols, presenting them as a series of rebellious fashion statements appropriated by a burgeoning subculture of acid-house ravers and ecstasy fuelled club-kids.
‘When You’re a Boy’ certainly goes some way towards showcasing Foxton’s talents within the field of Menswear styling yet I still feel the inclusion of a greater selection of images that tackled cultural themes and questioned notions of gender-prescribed identities may have enhanced the overall experience and lent increased significance to the consumption of the imagery. At times, it was not overtly clear as to who exactly this exhibition represented- fashion photographer and stylist fought for supremacy and the result is a real mish-mash of fashion impressions, some of them aesthetically striking, charged with corporeal beauty, and shrewdly representative of Man’s relationship with fashion whilst other elements yield very little in the way of an affirmative experience, inconsequential within the confines of the gallery space.
Brendan Olley commented about 1 year ago
After a few weeks of arguing with myself about this exhibition I found time this week to have a second peek inside the Pandora’s box of Simon Foxton at the Photographer’s Gallery.
I would like to agree with Jacob Moss, Simon Foxton does have an undeniable authority within the fashion environment however I would prevaricate when we are talking about this in the context of the photographic image and more importantly the photographic practice.
If we are objectively looking at the exhibition from a fashion view point we could support the visual language in the way of showcasing a metamorphosis in men’s fashion and cultural position within an arguably female orientated landscape. This is a important factor in the photographic document that spans outside of the fashion image and is utilized to the extreme by Foxton in this exhibition. Documenting fashion is like catching wild fly, in it’s ever changing directions it inevitably leaves a trail of inconsistency and over worked themes. I think this is apparent in the choppy nature of this confused showcase. None the less, we are seeing a display of history which I think as a concept the camera lends itself so beautifully.
Photographically, again I would agree with Moss, ‘Strictly Series’ by Jason Evans, was the most impressive. The 6 x 6 frame pushes the subject into a box like allure, concentrating all the attention on the centre frame gives a some what uneasy feeling to the pictures, which is supported by dressing the subjects in studio based garments and throwing them on the street which would shock even the most flouncy of Hoxton fashion students.
I felt cold on a particularly hot day after seeing the show. I didn’t leave with any real compassion towards the world of fashion photography and I was hoping this show would change my view of the way the fashion image survives but in fact it did quiet the contrary. We are looking at turned down view of Lachapelle. The exploitation of the gay man, sex sells and the garish handling of color make an insensitive, dry and sometimes boring show. The people have been dressed in a sculptural like way which best shows the styling of Foxton but leaves behind the delicacy of humane engagement which I think is most important when delineating the human form. Emotion and engagement are left downstairs with the kertesz show.
The Camera has been used as simply a tool to capture, at best, a well styled individual, with an abundance of unsophisticated and innocuous responses. I think these images are best left within the magazine space and would do well to avoid the gallery environment.
