Jefferson-Lewis’ research explores a prominent and distinct style of contemporary photographic portraiture which has become established of late under the semiotic term ‘Blankness’. His work engages with debate around the decay of the portrait and is partly inspired by photographers from the Dusseldorf Academy, in Germany and French philosopher Roland Barthes.
His large scale triptych of portraits of male youths, explores the ‘instability of identity’ in a portrait where the youthful individuals from a privileged background are dressed up and stripped of their resonance, then photographed gazing blank-faced into a large format camera lens. These anonymous typologies are then displayed as spectacle on a gallery wall and offer a vague and voyeuristic narrative which competes for attention and explores the space which exists in visual representation between a still image and a moving image.
Admission free
Artist’s Talk
Wednesday 25 April, 7.00 pm
Admission free
For more information about Gerard Jefferson-Lewis, visit his website.
Picture: Untitled (Butcher Boys) portrait number 276 @Gerard Jefferson-Lewis