Guy Bourdin: Image Maker
Somerset House
Until 15th
March - £9
Exhibitions
at Somerset House always have something very special about them, being curated
to the highest standards, and the Guy Bourdin exhibition is no exception.
Presented in the stunning space situated off the Embankment, it is home to several
highly identifiable pieces from one of the biggest fashion photographers that
we have ever know, along with previously unseen works.
For anyone
who is anyone in fashion it is hard not to see references to Guy Bourdins’ work
in many advertisements, editorials and other fashion images. With work spanning
over 4 decades, this exhibition is a great place to start if you are a budding
fashion photographer.
It is easy
to see that the photographer and surrealist Man Ray, to who Bourdin was
protégé, has inspired Bourdins’ work. Images are a non-conventional, some quite
fun and others taking a darker approach; one in particular wouldn’t have looked
out of place as a still from The Shining.
My favourite in the exhibition struck me at once; an image full of black
umbrellas with brightly made up eyes of a model peering through the centre. Her
eyes draw you into the image and make you feel that there is some beauty
beneath the drab setting. This piece could easily inspire a thousand beauty
advertisements.
The
exhibition starts with some very surreal images indeed. Bourdin has taken a
shop mannequin and cut off the legs. He stages the pair of legs in several
different locations with different pairs of shoes in each shot. Illusions are
created in your mind to whom the person is that these legs belong to, by which
location they appear in. It is such a fun and simple idea, but one that could
inspire so many ideas within the fashion industry; I can imagine a Louboutin
campaign with images not dissimilar to these.
Amongst the
striking photographs it was also great to see how Bourdin arrived at the images
that are so recognisable today. The exhibition offers you the chance to view
drawings, polaroid’s and test shoots from the photographer himself; a tiny
glimpse into the magical world of fashion photography, an exhibition not to
miss. Hurry! Only a few weeks left on this one.