Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website North: Fashioning Identity - An exhibition exploring contemporary artistic and stylistic representations of the north of England
gennaio 16, 2018 - Somerset House

North: Fashioning Identity - An exhibition exploring contemporary artistic and stylistic representations of the north of England

Press release available only in original language. 

An exhibition exploring contemporary artistic and stylistic representations of the north of England 

This winter, #somersethouse is proud to present North: Fashioning Identity, an exhibition examining representations of the north of England and Northerners in photography, #fashion and art. 

North: Fashioning Identity features over 100 photographs, #fashion garments and artworks from a host of renowned photographers, designers and artists including Alasdair McLellan, Corinne Day, Mark Leckey, Jeremy Deller, Raf Simons, Paul Smith, Off White’s Virgil Abloh, Peter Saville, Stephen Jones, Gareth Pugh, Nick Knight, Glen Luchford, Jamie Hawkesworth and David Sims, plus the likes of Shirley Baker, John Bulmer and Peter Mitchell. 

In the exhibition, contemporary photography, #fashion collections and multimedia artworks will sit alongside social documentary film and photography, highlighting how the realities of life in the north of England captured in the 20 th century continue to influence new generations of photographers, artists and designers. 

The show unpicks the themes and tropes present in these collective visions of northern England, from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Birkenhead, Doncaster to Preston, considering why these regions, or representations of these regions, are increasingly a source of inspiration and still so idealised today. 

Many of the works offer personal reflections on the artist’s sense of northern identity, including a number of interview films, produced by SHOWstudio, with northern born-and-bred talent on how their homes have influenced their creative output over the years. Specially commissioned for the show, the exhibition will also feature ‘Infinity’, a new film by Doncaster-born photographer Alasdair McLellan, in which he revisits the sites of his youth. 

However it is not just homegrown creatives, but also admirers from further afield who are shaping and spreading narratives of the North. The international impact and far-reaching resonances of northern style and culture – its music, film, sport, #fashion, landscapes and communities – are also showcased in the exhibition, from Belgian-born Raf Simons’ parkas with Peter Saville prints to the Haçienda-inspired designs of American #fashion designer and creative director of Off White, Virgil Abloh. 

Curated by writer, independent curator and SHOWstudio editor-at-large Lou Stoppard and Adam Murray, lecturer at Manchester School of Art and Central Saint Martins, and in partnership with Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery, the exhibition will be expanded at #somersethouse to include over 20 new works and a new #design

North: Fashioning Identity Events
Alongside the show, a series of stimulating events will delve deeper into some of the stories told through the exhibition. Highlights include: 

Panel Discussion: Curating North
Wednesday 15 th November, 19:00 – 20:30
Embankment Galleries Studio, South Wing
Talk: £10/£8 conc. Combo ticket including talk and exhibition entry: £15/£12 conc. 

Co-curators Lou Stoppard and Adam Murray reveal the inner workings of the exhibition, sharing the stories behind the initial development of the show, the integration of new works in its transition from Liverpool to #london, artist relations and the complications of showcasing ‘The North’, considering the truths, the myths and the spaces in between. 

The conversation will be introduced by Somerset House’s Exhibitions team and chaired by Sarah Fisher, Executive Director of Open Eye, the Liverpool gallery which originally exhibited the show. 

In Conversation: Lou Stoppard, Gareth Pugh & Charles Jeffrey
Wednesday 22 nd November, 18:45 – 20:30
River Rooms, New Wing
Talk: £7. Combo ticket including talk and exhibition entry: £12, available from mid-October 

Kicking off a new bi-monthly ‘in conversation’ series profiling the work and influences of #somersethouse Studio artists, co-curator Lou Stoppard will lead a conversation between #fashion designers Charles Jeffrey and Gareth Pugh, one of the contributors to North: Fashioning Identity. 

Both designers are now based at #somersethouse, but originally hail from Glasgow and Sunderland respectively. The conversation will cover the pairs’ relocation from North to South and its impact on 

their networks and the cross-disciplinary collaborations that have brought the #fashion field. 

North: Fashioning Identity is supported by adidas. 

North: Fashioning Identity
8 November 2017 – 4 February 2018
East Wing Galleries, #somersethouse, #london £7, £5 concessions 

www.somersethouse.org.uk