Next month in Mayfair sees the opening of Andy Warhol Polaroid Pictures at BASTIAN, which will displaying over 60 portrait and self-portraits taken by Andy Warhol in the 1960s and 70s. It will be the inaugural exhibition in BASTIAN’s new Mayfair space, which represents their first international outpost outside of Berlin, which will continue to exhibit artworks centred around German and American post-war artists.
The exhibition promises to provide a fascinating insight into the artist’s social circles. Centred around Warhol’s infamous Self Portrait (1979), Andy Warhol Polaroid Pictures is permeated with icons of the 60s and 70s, featuring figures such as David Hockney, Liza Minelli and Yves Saint Laurent.
Warhol’s camera captures an honest portrait of New York at the time, appearing as a study of the apparent artifice of celebrity. The images themselves are accordingly simple and personal, removed from the carefully constructed photoshoot. They herald the rise of consumer culture in American society, demonstrating how, as Warhol claims, “everybody looks alike and acts alike, and we’re getting more and more that way.”
The majority of images were taken on the Big Shot Camera, manufactured by Polaroid specifically for the capturing of portraits, was utilised by Warhol from the 1970s, until his death in 1987, forming an integral part of his practice. The simplicity of the device, with its fixed focus lens and integrated flash, allows for the creation of inherently ‘alike’ imagery, without concern for wider photographic complexity.
Below is a teaser of what you can expect:
For more information, visit BASTIAN.
Andy Warhol Polaroid Pictures at BASTIAN: 2 February – 13 April 2019 | BASTIAN, 8 Davies Street, London, W1K 3DW
Words by Charlie Dixon.
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