A display of around 30 photographs exploring the different ways contemporary artists have used photography in their work.
Manchester Art Gallery
Thursday 17 May 2012–Sunday 7 April 2013
Free
Photography is at the heart of some of the most significant works of art of our times. This display sought to reveal how photographers have used the camera to explore traditional artistic themes in new and exciting ways.
Taken from the 1980s onward, these photographs were chosen because they explore the body, reinvent still-life, examine our cultural identities and explore the places where we live, work and spend our leisure time, often finding ways of making the familiar strange and the ugly beautiful.
The display featured work by influential photographer Keith Arnatt, famous British artist Helen Chadwick, Turner Prize nominee Catherine Yass and Young British Artists such as Sarah Lucas and Jane and Louise Wilson.
It also included a number of photographic works collected by the Gallery over the last 10 years, with support from the Contemporary Art Society’s Special Collection scheme. By artists including Craigie Horsfield, Cornelia Parker and Thomas Demand, these works explore the themes of photography and sculpture and the connections between the two.
The photographs in this display came from the collections of Manchester City Galleries, The Arts Council Collection at The Southbank Centre, London and other lenders.
Image
Donald Rodney, In The House Of My Father, 1996-97
Purchased by CAS for SLG
