A group exhibition showcasing the works of Jess Wishart, Billie Stringer, Hannah Hall, Samuel Edwards and Nikolai Voelcker.
Jess Wishart
Wishart is a photographer making work about how we live, how we connect with each other, and ourselves. How do we navigate digital spaces, what does autonomy mean when we have the ability to be any version of ourselves, or someone else entirely? So much of the visual content we associate with technology is imbued with sci-fi aesthetics, glossy, sleek, and clean. But this same technology is so ingrained in our daily lives, in many senses it is our daily lives. Wishart aims to create work that is closer to that reality. Centred around a traditional photographic practise, and then various modes of digital manipulation are used to sculpt out new ways of looking at the initial image. Breaking the barrier between the two worlds.
Hannah Hall
Hall’s work is rooted in an exploration of morality and women’s emotions beyond the confines of stereotypes, giving space for her subjects to be nuanced and contradictory. Her practice combines costume, set design and performance. Whilst also drawing inspiration from her own lived experiences, she builds intimate visual narratives that challenge traditional portrayals of identity and emotion. Her process is deeply collaborative, with each subject contributing to the development of a distinct character within an intentionally constructed scene. At the heart of Hall’s practice is a sense of nihilism, an exploration of themes she feels are only spoken in hushed tones when affecting women. Hall is motivated to create a space where women are allowed to be controversial and complex.
Samuel Edwards
Exploring themes of desire, voyeurism and vulnerability, Edward’s work is motivated by his own nuanced reflections of relationships. Creating imagery with the intention of constructing raw, tender and complex moments with his subjects, allowing onlookers to form their own personal interpretations. “I prefer when it seems like I’m not even there”. Having been advised early in his photographic career to be careful about labelling his work as queer Edward’s felt like he distanced himself from exploring his own queer identity for several years. “Now, it feels liberating to start again, creating work that reflects sexuality on my own terms.”
Nikolai Voelcker
Nikolai Voelcker is a Zurich-born photographer and director based in London. Operating at the intersection of cinematic image-making and staged portraiture, Nikolai's photographs and films construct emotionally charged, highly composed, and sometimes humorous worlds that explore youth and male dynamics. He tells stories often inspired from his own life experiences, by challenging everyday situations among men. Deeply committed to creating work about and within his surroundings, his sets, styling, and other personal details act as markers of his unique style. His work invites viewers into moments of vulnerability and transformation, they’re intimate and marked by softness and distinct visual clarity.
Billie Stringer
Billie Stringer is an Irish photographer based between London and Paris, whose work explores her way of seeing as a queer woman, curating a world that exists at the intersection between portraiture and performance. She is driven by collaboration within the image making process, with each image being born from conversation and each person who sits in front of her camera having as much autonomy in the outcome of the image as she does.