I read about this exhibition a few months ago, primarily as I was trying to find any excuse to visit the Fitzrovia Chapel. Having previously tried to visit earlier in the week, I managed to find time on Sunday after multiple drenchings on a walking tour and various other ordeals that one only seems to get in London.
Nevertheless despite wanting to get home, I made a detour, watched a military parade and eventually found myself at Goodge Street station on the lookout for the Fitzrovia Chapel which is rather well hidden. I found it easily myself but one or two others weren't quite sure where to go.
DAVID BOWIE – A LONDON DAY is curated by journalist, author, cultural historian and Bowie fan, Dylan Jones.
In late 1992, David Bowie was preparing for the release of his 18th studio album Black Tie White Noise. Photographer Kevin Davies was commissioned to photograph Bowie for a series of images which would be used to promote the album. The session took place at a studio space in Clerkenwell on Sunday 13th December 1992, with a selection of images subsequently approved by Bowie for press use, after which Davies placed the original rolls of film, contact sheets and prints in storage where they stayed for almost 30 years.
In 2020, Davies uncovered the boxes to reveal perfectly preserved film negatives of 400+ images from that single day with Bowie, the details of which had been eclipsed by the indistinguishable memory of a luminous presence. The original collection of 450 images captured a then 45-year-old David Bowie styled for Black Tie White Noise, plus a series shot late in the day when Davies asked to capture Bowie "just as you are."
The exhibition features 20 photographs from across the day with selected images presented as diptychs and triptychs to explore a meditation on the photographic archive. This exhibition takes Bowie as its subject, but it is equally a representation of the afterlife of analogue photography. It explores the intersection of the archive and creative remembrance. The collection is built around a number of Bowie's own selects taken from his mark-ups on Davies' original contact sheets and reveals a timeless, almost age-less David Bowie in the prime of his life.
Kevin Davies said – "In the anxiety of COVID 19 lockdown I found comfort in retracing my career through stored away negative boxes. I finally had the opportunity to do something I had wanted to do for such a long time; rediscovering past jobs in their totality. For me, this exhibition is a chance to show the photographic process beyond a commission."
Curator Dylan Jones said – "This is a fascinating body of work as it's a visual narrative that takes place over the course of a single session on a single day. Not only does it show David Bowie's extraordinary attention to detail, but it also shows Kevin Davies' ability to shape and catalogue that narrative. I love these pictures."
I must admit I likely only visited to see inside the chapel but that's the thing about the place, it makes for unique and calm setting and a really good venue for small exhibitions or events.
The exhibition only runs until the 20th of March so if you are a fan of David Bowie, ornate hospital chapels or like myself a bit of both then do check it out.
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