Thoughts/Observations on Annie Leibowitz: Women exhibition at Wapping Power Station
Exhibited in the industrial setting of Wapping’s old Hydraulic power station next to the Thames, Leibowitz’s latest additions to her ongoing project Women are as powerful as the machinery that once resided in the main hall space of the Victorian era structure at the heart of London’s East – End. I spent almost 2 hours perusing the prints and visual displays that make up the exhibition, the latest additions to the project being displayed on a freestanding board at the far wall. They comprise beautiful, intimate and personal portraits of women from all aspects of life including artists, dancers, politicians, activists, writers, musicians, journalists, actors, athletes, scientists, comedians, royalty and family to name a few. With each new photograph is a short caption giving information on the woman photographed, and a short history of their lives. In every photograph you get a sense of the woman’s true self, but you can also see the diversity of women and not what the ‘standard’ depictions of what a woman is. Leibowitz selection of participants for the project sets out to both challenge and celebrate what it means to be a woman in the 21st Century, when gender roles are no longer prefixed into categories about what either sex can and can’t do. This is by no means to say that as a society we have overcome these boundaries; but what Leibowitz’s project shows is the diversity of women in the world around us. Aesthetically, many of the women are photographed facing the camera, but this is done in a variety of different scenario’s; their place of work, a studio set, a place of interest, familiarity or intimacy to the subject. Other’s in environments which seek to show the woman’s character or personality. Overall, the exhibition is one of my favourites from my short time of attending such exhibits. Leibowitz’s ability to both depict the identity of the subject whom she photographs, as well as celebrate and challenge what it means to be a woman is something I truly admire; I hope to be able to capture the essence of an individuals’ true being as well as she can.