Exhibition Projects
Venus Rising: Nadine Ijewere, Demystifying the divine
This exhibition explores Nadine Ijewere’s photography, relating common themes amongst photos including race, identity and beauty. Nadine Ijewere’s world-renowned concepts are known for their ‘kaleidoscopic and revolutionary imagery’(Brewer, 2021) that transcend traditional fashion media. The 26 year-old photographer was born in southeast London coming from Nigerian-Jamaican heritage, her diasporic background is a significant influence in her work where she explores topics like race, diversity and identity. As a way of highlighting her heritage she often shoots in Nigeria, and most notably Jamaica, in tropical scenery often featuring natural pools of water. The fluidity of the water reflects Ijewere’s fluid attitudes towards the definition of beauty; she casts models that defy eurocentric beauty standards as a way of resisting traditional beauty conventions. The natural aspects of the Barbican conservatory mimic the environment that she photographs, incorporating her African heritage in a London location to embrace ethnic beauty and culture.
Rising Venus refers to a new emerging definition of beauty that incorporates ethnic features; Nadine Ijewere’s work represents non-eurocentric beauty which is often pushed aside in fashion and mainstream media. Her aim is to provide representation for young girls who look like the models, this is because Ijewere speaks on how ‘as a girl, I never identified with anyone in the pages of magazines.’ The idea of Venus as the guardian of the sacred feminine, has mostly been depicted aligning with eurocentric beauty standards for centuries. Ijewere’s photos redefine the idea of Venus and show that all women can be depicted as Venus and obtain divine feminine energy. A particular aspect of beauty that Ijewere considers is hair, and the expression of identity through hair. Celebrating Afro-hair is important to her because the textures, colours and hairstyles are not as acknowledged and honored in fashion and media. Becoming the first female photographer of colour to shoot a Vogue cover, paved the way for other female photographers of colour shooting models who showed various definitions of beauty. Consequently, Nadine Ijewere’s integrity and her optimistic approach to her concepts has developed her a world-wide fan base.
“If any female feels she needs anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency.”
Screen sirens: Exploring Cinematic Lingerie
From corset to basque and stocking to garter, the majority of those identifying as women have an appreciation for lingerie as it is ‘the basis upon which a woman creates her silhouette and builds her sense of identity.’ (Bressler, 1997, p.6) Wearing underwear has been a fundamental part of life tracing back to ancient civilizations, therefore it is no coincidence that the global lingerie retail market was valued in 2020 at approximately 42 billion US dollars. Throughout centuries differing lingerie styles have gathered various meanings depending on the cultural climate, meaning that lingerie as material culture is a valuable source when analysing sexual politics and female emancipation.
This exhibition focuses on lingerie styles in the 20th Century and early 21st Century, where there is clear evidence of lingerie reflecting attitudes towards women throughout the waves of feminism and scientific advancements. As society has embraced female sexuality over the decades, the less the body has been covered and constricted in undergarments with the rise in materials like spandex and mesh, leaving less and less to the imagination. The reclaiming of power over the patriarchy has allowed women to empower themselves and their sexuality, with lingerie being a tool used to manifest this in physical form.
The film industry has been one of the main media platforms for viewing exquisitely designed lingerie that is adorned by some of the most beautiful women in the world. Unfortunately, underwear is usually only exhibited in western-style films because of the politics regarding the presentation of the female body in many eastern countries. All the actresses shown in this exhibition are regarded as sirens, who are enchanting individuals where lingerie has been used as a seduction method to entrance their male onscreen counterparts.
