GSK Contemporary – Aware: Art Fashion Identity

This exhibition will reflect upon the relationship between our physical covering and constructed personal environments, our individual and social identities and the contexts in which we live. The exhibition will look at the role of clothing in cultural and personal stories through the work of Grayson Perry, Helen Storey, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, and Claudia Losi. Issues of belonging and nationality, displacement and political and social confrontation will be addressed in the work of Yinka Shonibare, Sharif Waked, Alicia Framis, Meschac Gaba, Dai Rees and Acconci Studio  (Vito Acconci, Dario Nunez, Eduardo Marques, Garrett Ricciardi). The importance of performance in the presentation of fashion and clothing, and in highlighting the roles that we play in our daily life, will be explored through the work of Hussein Chalayan, Gillian Wearing RA and Andreas Gursky, among others.

As a mechanism of expression, the exploration of the role of clothing has been at the heart of the artistic practice of a number of contemporary artists, and has particular resonance for those attuned to the social situations of their times. While frequently fulfilling a practical and occasionally protective function, clothing can be effective in celebrating or suppressing identity and in indicating allegiances. It has the ability to express our way of life and even our unconscious, communicating our positions, aspirations and desires.

The foundations of the exhibition are set through a select number of works from key artists of the late 1960s, when art and fashion first established meeting points as well as a new connection with society. These artists continue to be a point of reference for a new generation of contemporary artists and designers whose engagement in questioning cultural, geographical, political and social identity through their work forms the body of this exhibition.