How do you intend to spend the last few days of July? Relishing in the heat outdoors or staying cool inside? If it’s the former, then why not languish in the sun whilst enjoying the work of Yanki Shonibare and Leandro Erlich. However if the mere thought of the outdoor climes is making you break out into a sweat then we suggest staying indoors and checking out the best photography on display right now.
1. Yinka Shonibare MBE: FABRIC-ATION, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield
Taking place in three of YSP’s indoor galleries and the open air, FABRIC–ATION features over 30 vibrant works from the last 11 years including sculpture, film, photography, painting and collage, with many works never before seen in the UK. Afterwards you can explore the YSP’s world-class collection that includes permanent pieces by such major artists as Moore, Gormley and Goldsworthy, all dotted across sweeping, sheep-inhabited landscapes.
2. Helmut Newton, Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm
Helmut Newton is a man who needs no introduction and who famously claimed that “The perfect fashion photo, doesn’t look like a fashion photo, but more like a film still, or a portrait or a keepsake photo – somehow like anything but a fashion photo.” Newton expanded the potential of editorial photography by drawing on multiple sources, adapting the look of film noir, reportage, blending the familiar and the surreal.
3. I, YOU, ME, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Prepare to feel nostalgic after soaking up this survey of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and photographs from the 1980s to early 1990s. Taking three commonplace nouns, I, You, Me, as its starting point, the exhibition uses these words to explore the works of art in the Museum’s archive. Within the various media and artists exhibited it becomes clear that the social concerns and personal issues of those working during that time period are still felt today.
4. Sebastião Salgado: Genesis, National History Museum, London
Bringing together eight years work that spans over 32 countries, these epic photos are of the remotest parts of our planet. As the title suggests, Genesis, is about Salgado attempting to capture the planet as it once was – unspoilt landscapes, wildlife and communities living in isolation.
5. Leandro Erlich: Dalston House, 1-7 Ashwin Street, London.
Release your inner action hero by scaling walls and swinging from windowsills in Leandro Erlich’s engaging piece. Difficult to explain in writing, the work is a flat recreation of a house, similar to those that used to be found in the area before the destruction of World War II. It lies horizontally on the ground with mirrors positioned overhead. The reflections of visitors give the impression they are standing on, suspended from, or scaling the building vertically.
1. Revolution Kid (Fox), 2012 Courtesy the artist and Collection Museum Beelden aan Zee, Den Haag- Scheveningen (The Netherlands).
2. Helmut Newton, Van Cleefs… X-Ray
3. Tina Barney, The Landscape, 1988, cromogenic print
4. Argentina, 2004. © Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas Images/nbpictures
5. Dalston House, image courtesy of the Guardian