An exhibition within an exhibition

We were visiting the National Gallery of Victoria St Kilda Road when we split up with Gael heading for the paid exhibition of African fashion and I headed in the other direction to check on a couple of 17th century Dutch paintings. A few minutes later the phone tingled with a message that there was an exhibition of great photography within the fashion exhibition. Change of plan!

Luckily this was in the week before the NGV Pharaoh exhibition opened, so things were a little quiet. This allowed time to stand in front of works for almost as long as required to enjoy, to read panels (no arts-speak) and then gaze again. And then to wander back and forth.

It was interesting to note that many of the people in attendance were spending generous time with the photographs – and in some cases having quiet discussions about them. Photography is still a much loved medium!

The range of photographs was from early to very contemporary – with the theme of fashion. Definitely worth seeing – although who knows how crowded this exhibition will be once the Pharaoh crowds spill over.

And yes, the fashion items were wonderful as well.

here’s a sample of the photographs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and more of the fashion…

 

 

My rating for the photography: 😎 😎 😎 😎  (5 out of 5)

Here’s a link to the NGV site; there’s a mention of the photography there although of course the emphasis is on the fashion exhibitions. The exhibition is on till 6 October 2024.

to quote from a media release: In the centre of the exhibition, the sections titled Capturing Change and Through the Photographers Lens focus on photographic portraiture and look at the connection between fashion and self-representation. Highlights from this section include the late-twentieth century studio photography from Sanlé Sory, Michel Papami Kameni and Rachidi Bissiriou and the contemporary work of Stephen Tayo, Sarah Waiswa, Gouled Ahmed, along with by Atong Atem, Lakin Ogunbanwo and Phumzile Khanyile drawn from the NGV Collection.

For more background, there’s the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) page on their 2022 exhibition: Family, photography, memories: Africa Fashion

Also on the V&A site is their exhibition Africa Fashion page – being the basis for the NGV exhibition.

PS: next time, maybe I will check on those 17th century Dutch paintings.