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Day 2: North

published on 2 January 2017

Curator and academic Adam Murray shared the process behind the exhibition North: Identity, Photography, Fashion exclusively on the SHOWstudio Tumblr.

Curator and academic Adam Murray shared the process behind the exhibition North: Identity, Photography, Fashion exclusively on the SHOWstudio Tumblr.

The wall hang happens today. We’ve been so lucky to work with such a fantastic range of artists for the exhibition and seeing all the prints together in the gallery was a big moment. A salon type hang will see a range of photographic styles juxtaposed to create a dialogue between work originally intended for very different purposes. In this image you can see a wonderful print by David Sims that originally appeared in Self Service magazine in 2006. The project was cast with Thom Murphy and shot in the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool
Imperfect Beauty has long been an influential project for me. Curated by Charlotte Cotton and on display at the V&A from September 2000 - March 2001, the exhibition was pioneering in placing contemporary fashion imagery into a gallery context. It was also one of the first to recognise as equal the role of all those involved with the image making process; photographers, stylists, art directors, models. You can find an archive of in depth interviews with a number of the people involved on the British Library sound archive website. In 2014 I spent time in the V&A archive exploring how the exhibition was developed and Charlotte has become a key supporter of a number of my projects.
It has been great to be able to bring work to be seen in Liverpool for the first time at North. This morning we have been installing a collaborative work by Hacienda designer Ben Kelly and Virgil Abloh for Off White. Six columns from a Touring DJ / Fashion Show / Events Kit commissioned by Off White will be on display in the street facing window of Open Eye Gallery
As North was developing, serendipitous moments would occur that introduced new work that I was not previously aware of. An example of this is when we contacted Bolton Library and Museum Services to loan a Humphrey Spender print. Spender was the main photographer associated with the Mass Observation group and Bolton was the focus for their ‘Worktown’ study. Matthew Watson (Collections Access Officer) then suggested that we look at the work of John Skelton who had worked with the archive to inform his MA collection whilst studying at Central Saint Martins. It is fascinating seeing how an ethnographic study from the 1930s informed a contemporary fashion collection and garments by John are featured in the exhibition.
Gallery 3 features the in depth interviews we have produced in collaboration with SHOWstudio with key fashion figures who grew up in the north of England. Set designer Tony Hornecker has been working to create intimate environments informed by the topics discussed in each interview so that visitors can spend time watching and listening to these insightful films. Five films are available to watch now on the North project site on SHOWstudio with the final two released to coincide with the exhibition launch on Thursday 5th January.
a british summer: blackpool 2001 Photography: Corinne Day / Fashion Editor: Panos Yiapanis Dutch, May/June 2001
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