I can’t say I’m ever head over heels enthused about the prospect of visiting a gallery or museum. This is probably due to the fact that I invariably associate most exhibitions with pained legs as a result of lengthy periods of time spent standing, frustratingly fleshy contextualising written materials that are full of interesting information but are too bloody comprehensive leaving you with no choice but to skim the surface of the subject at hand, sleepiness induced by dead silence, and that incredible distance from the work that somehow often leaves you feeling cold and keenly aware of the whole artificiality of the situation in which you’re experiencing the artist’s vision.
That said, the current Wolfgang Tillmans‘ exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde Park is a welcome exception. I ventured out west last week to take a look and it proved well worth it. Prior to the exhibition, I held scant knowledge of the artist and knew only that he lived in Berlin and London and loved to photograph beautiful boys, which was, for me, enough reason to justify a visit.
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| Dan |
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| Wald by Wolgang Tillmans |
Lauded for his talent of picturing the banalities of the everyday from such a perspective that the boring details of life are transformed into beautiful images imbued with countless potential interpretations, Tillmans won the Turner Prize in 2000 and was featured on the cover of the SS10 issue of Fantastic Man (in which he brilliantly juxtaposes skinhead chic with a domesticity).
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| Tillmans on the cover of Fantastic Man |
Although it’s more his art rather personal style I’m feting here, you can’t really deny he makes a plaid shirt look especially good.
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| Portrait by Stuart Mentiply |
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Ta-dah! Although it’s been an age in the offing, the blog has finally got the re-design that it’s been shamelessly begging for for far too long now. You might also notice the subtle addition of “and more” to the header, which loosely translates as, “expect more posts on film and other things not strictly fashion but style-related”. Mega thanks to impossibly talented illustrator, and founder of Decoy, Richard Kilroy for his work on the blog header – you’ve only gone and wow-ed me again with this. Do let me know your thoughts on the blog, whether you think it naff or nifty.
Images from Serpentine Gallery, Ricky Day, Pilot Magazine, and Lolay Maria