Exhibiting the work of a truly innovative, American fashion photographer, featuring a selection of her personal vintage photocollages and editorial work.
“Fashion takes itself more seriously than I do. I’m not really a fashion photographer.” - Deborah Turbeville in The New Yorker
Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage opens at The Photographers’ Gallery this Autumn, from 9 October 2024 – 23 February 2025. The exhibition will feature a selection of her personal vintage photocollages and editorial work.
Deborah Turbeville revolutionised the world of fashion photography, transforming it from its commercial clean standard into an art form. Turbeville deliberately distanced herself from the typical glamorous, polished aesthetic that dominated fashion at the time. Her signature dreamlike and melancholic style became recognisable with her earliest works in the 1970s: enigmatic female figures, cloudy skies, wintry nature and abandoned, decaying surroundings.
Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage will present Turbeville's trailblazing photographic explorations, from fashion photos to her very personal work. Bringing together unique pieces, the exhibition will show Turbeville's highly personal artistic universe which has been credited with transforming fashion imagery into avant-garde art.
She experimented with the developing process, from the darkroom to the studio table. She ripped, cut and tore her photographs; manipulated, pinned and glued them together to create unique hybrid objects. Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage will offer a new appreciation of Turbeville's ground-breaking contribution to the history of photography. Describing her work, she said “I destroy the image after I’ve made it, obliterate it a little so you never have it completely there.”
The exhibition includes her most controversial photograph, Bath House, New York City,1975, part of a swimsuit photoshoot for Vogue, which featured five models, slouching and stretching in an abandoned bathhouse. The picture was so unlike the traditional fashion imagery of the time it prompted a public outcry. Turbeville was undeterred and continued to produce images with an element of decay, saying “the idea of disintegration is really the core of my work.”
Other works on show include images from Turbeville’s 1981 American Book Award-winning series Unseen Versailles, and her first photocollage magazine, Maquillage (1975).
Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage is organised by The Photographers’ Gallery, produced by Photo Elysee in collaboration with MUUS collection. The exhibition is curated by Nathalie Herschdorfer, Director of Photo Elysée, and Karen McQuaid, Senior Curator at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage Wed 09 Oct 2024 - Sun 23 Feb 2025
Location: The Photographers' Gallery 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW
Price: £10 (£7 concession). Advance: £8.50 (£6 concession). Members go free. Fridays free from 5pm!
Opening Times
Mon – Weds 10am – 6pm
Thurs & Fri 10am – 8pm (Friday free from 5pm)
Sat 10am – 6pm, Sun 11am- 6pm
Tickets: Photographers' Gallery (accessacloud.com)
Further Information: Homepage | The Photographers Gallery