In a city renowned for its diversity and multiculturalism, the arrival of this latest exhibition at Chelsea’s Saatchi Gallery has proved its weight in celebrating Black creativity. The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion is a groundbreaking showcase of vibrant portraits and conceptual images. Inspired by a book of the same name, the exhibition opened in October this year to much critical acclaim. Featuring 15 international Black photographers who have contributed to a new representation of the Black figure, their works seek to reframe their depiction across both art and fashion.
Encompassing the works of Black stylists, models, creative directors, and make-up artists, a radically new set of experiences and references to the image are brought to the forefront. Curated by American writer and critic, Antwaun Sargent, the exhibition seeks to explore a revived aesthetic of Black portraiture whilst also providing a close-up analysis of the synergy between art, culture, and fashion in the making of images and their breakdown of long-established boundaries.
Featured prominently in traditional lifestyle magazines, campaigns, and galleries across the years, the bringing together of their work opens up discussions around the representation of the Black body and the lives that inhabit them as the subject matter.
Emerging talents creating photography in innovative contexts across New York, Lagos, London and Johannesburg, feature in the exhibition to present new viewpoints on the medium of photography and the concept of race, gender, beauty and power. As such, inclusion and exclusion runs as a steady theme throughout, particularly in the development of the commercial Black image, to offer a spectacular re-imagined future.
In partnership with Burberry, one of the focus areas of the exhibition is New Gazes II as a space dedicated to works directly with the British fashion house and with special attention to the Black creator. Selected photographers to showcase include Bolade Banjo, Kwabena Sekyi-Appiah-Nti, Micaiah Carter, Kennedi Carter, and Liz Johnson Artur. Blending Burberry’s signature house codes with the varied visual aesthetics and concerns of The New Black Vanguard, the art is fascinating. Burberry’s commitment to inclusive creativity of open spaces is further leveraged by their donation to the Saatchi Gallery’s own learning programme that supports exhibition-themed activities. The Gallery will further partner with local community associations and schools across London to provide free workshops, resources, and tours, within the Gallery, offsite, and online.
“The New Black Vanguard is an important milestone in history where the work of young black artists have been curated beautifully and published in a book. It’s a dream for this show to be exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery in London. This represents progress and more boundaries being removed. London is my home, I still remember school trips to the Saatchi! Now we are here, together, telling our stories!” – Nadine Ijewere, Photographer
Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, London, SW3
saatchigallery.com
