SHOWstudio

SHOWstudio - Fashion Revolution @ Somerset House

I'd been looking forward to the SHOWstudio exhibition at Somerset house for weeks - a good friend recommended it to me. It was one of the most engaging and interactive exhibitions i'd visited. I thought that the way in which the exhibition had been curated was perfect for the type of work which was being shown. The first room you enter is Nick Knights 'Mirror Room' introducing us to the fashion world and forcing each visitor to confront their reflection. The second room really went for impact. A giant triple figure sculpture of Naomi Campbell stands from floor to ceiling - its huge. The visitor is then allowed to paint onto her body using a small screen at the bottom and a projector transforms this creation (in real time) onto the sculpture. Mine is shown here before/after.Upstairs we can see many of Knights fashion videos the first is a film of designer Alexander McQueen. 'The Bridegroom Stripped Bare' 2002 records McQueens transformation of a bride - his concentration and absorption of the act is incredible his actions of stripping, ripping, cutting and painting are filled with such certainty. It was interesting to read that this was the first ever photo-shoot to be streamed live via webcam.

The next piece which really caught my eye was the 'Picture/Message:Poser' series. Photographer David Weightman disguised hidden cameras within concave mirrors and placed these all in the front rows of the 2004 Paris fashion week. These high-profile victims caught in the act of their vanity.
'Banquet' 2004 was another experimental film project I really loved. A 23-course banquet was cooked by molecular gastronomer Heston Blumenthal. Webcams were positioned above each place-setting and the banquet (all 23 courses) was filmed.

'More Beautiful Women' 2000 was a very confronting piece. A screen about (2x3m) shows a range of beautiful models stand in front of the camera. They are asked to stand and face the camera for two-minutes. It sounds easy but after about twenty seconds the time seems to place very slowly. The models forced to face silence - with no direction, music, styling or backgrounds. Just them in their stripped-down selves.

I thought Gareth Pugh's 'Fash-off' 2006 was daring and exciting. With just a few props (mainly glitter and paint) the designer transformed his own face into many different guises from painting his face black and gilding it with gold foil to becoming a sparkling clown. The piece aimed to 'capture his perspective on sensationalism, glamour and spectacle.''Freedom of Love' 2004 featuring Brad Pitt was a beautifully thought out idea. I remember buying this edition of Vanity Fair back in 2004 because I saw Pitt on the cover and I just loved the Art Direction of the shoot. I hardly ever buy Vanity Fair and I was surprised in the exhibition when this film came on as I'd realised I already had a connection with the final images. The film is of Brad Pitt reciting Andre Bretons poem 'Freedom of Love' the film forces Pitt to face some special scenarios. Pitt was asked to copy his photograph from his passport (this was then enlarged to 3x4m) he was then asked to write over the image and throw paint onto it whilst reciting the poem. The final images are beautifully ironic. They play on the ideas of celebrity and image ad this shoot pushed Pitt to imagine how others see him.
The exhibition was fit-to-burst with so many inspiring projects that brought human nature, personality, poetry, fashion, creativity together. Nick Knight is an innovative and forward thinking fashion specialist he is so much more than just a photographer.