Out of Focus, the current exhibition at London’s renowned Saatchi Gallery, presents the first major photography exhibition at the gallery since its controversial 2001 exhibition I Am a Camera.
The title, Out of Focus, proves to be rather apt. The gallery is filled with the work of 38 artists (not all of them photographers) from countries around the globe, such as the US, UK, South Africa, France, Australia, Finland, Turkey, and Benin. The exhibition offers not only an international perspective on the current trends in photography, but also 38 individual positions and opinions of what photography means today.
There are clear re-occurring themes in the works on the walls of the Saatchi Gallery, including the body, gender tensions, mind and memory, a sense of place and home, the face, as well as bonds of family, friends, tribes and other subcultures. However, the styles, methods and approaches in which these themes are treated with are wide ranging; from a classic documentary approach to using the photographic image only as a tool to capture a performance.
What all 38 artists represented in this exhibition do have in common is that they work with photography in innovative ways; hardly any picture in this exhibition seems to be a straight-forward taken photograph – most of the images on show are manipulated, constructed, collaged or composed. This reflects the current state of photography – at a time when the world of photography is at its most complicated, but possibly also one of its richest moments. Every single day, millions of images are uploaded onto the internet, increasing the available visual stimuli on a daily basis, and with the emergence of digital technology the boundaries between a ‘professional’ and an ‘amateur’ photographer have been blurred. Furthermore, the traditional boundaries of the various genres and territories within the world of photography have merged into one another. The labels of ‘photographer’ and ‘artist’ are subject to much debate. The works represented in Out of Focus brings to light all of these issues and challenge the rules, preconceptions, and regulations of the medium.
There is a lot of work on display, and it is an incredibly varied selection. Due to the amount of work, as well as a lack of a clear focus or underlying system of order the way it was curated, the exhibition can be a bit confusing at times. However, many of the projects are of very high quality and are worth seeing; maybe the sense of being a little overwhelmed and confused reflects today’s state of photography. William A Ewing also states in the catalogue that, “photography is a very strange place to be right now, either inside looking out (the producer) or outside looking in (the public).” The exhibition offers a cross-section – and inside view – of what is happening right now in the world of photography, which seems to be spreading in all possible directions and areas. This state is difficult to summarize – and this difficulty can be seen as the greatest strength or the biggest fault of Saatchi’s current exhibition.
By Anna-Maria Pfab
Out of Focus features works by Michele Abeles, Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Olaf Breuning, Jonny Briggs, Elina Brotherus, Anders Clausen, Mat Collishaw, J H Engström, Mitch Epstein, Andreas Gefeller, Daniel Gordon, Noémie Goudal, Katy Grannan, Luis Gispert, Matthew Day Jackson, Chris Levine, Matt Lipps, Ryan McGinley, Mohau Modisakeng, Laurel Nakadate, Sohei Nishino, David Noonan, Marlo Pascual, Mariah Robertson, Hannah Sawtell, David Benjamin Sherry, Meredyth Sparks, Hannah Starkey, John Stezaker, A L Steiner, Mikhael Subotzky, Yumiko Utsu, Sara VanDerBeek, Nicole Wermers, Jennifer West and Pinar Yolaçan.
A catalogue to accompany the exhibition is published by Booth-Clibborn Editions with an essay by William A Ewing, former director of the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne.
At the same time as Out of Focus, Google and the Saatchi Gallery will present the Google Photography Prize, a global competition for international students. The competition’s 10 finalists, chosen by a prestigious jury including Susan Bright, Elina Brotherus, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Dayanita Singh and Joel Sternfeld, will exhibit their work at the Saatchi Gallery.
Out of Focus
Photographers : Michele Abeles L. Raphael Agbodjélou Olaf Breuning Jonny Briggs Broomberg & Chanarin Elina Brotherus Anders Clausen Mat Collishaw JH Engström Mitch Epstein Andreas Gefeller Luis Gispert Daniel Gordon, Noémie Goudal Katy Grannan Matthew Day Jackson Chris Levine Matt Lipps Ryan McGinley Mohau Modisakeng Laurel Nakadate Sohei Nishino David Noonan Marlo Pascual Mariah Robertson Phoebe Rudomino, Hannah Sawtell David Benjamin Sherry Berndnaut Smilde Meredyth Sparks Hannah Starkey A.L. Steiner John Stezaker Mikhael Subotzky Yumiko Utsu Sara VanDerBeek Nicole Wermers Jennifer West Pinar Yolaçan.
EXHIBITION
25 April – 22 July 2012
Saatchi Gallery
Duke Of York’s HQ,
King’s Road,
London,
SW3 4RY
England
