Stepping into the National Portrait Gallery's "The Face: Culture Shift" exhibition is like entering a time capsule, albeit one powered by a decidedly dynamic engine. The immediate impact is visceral: bold splashes of red, blue, and black paint the walls, a backdrop to the oversized, iconic portraits that defined a generation. Corinne Day's seminal 1990 photograph of a young, freckled Kate Moss, grinning with unvarnished authenticity, immediately sets the tone. This isn't just a retrospective; it's a reclamation of a rebellious spirit in visual storytelling, a spirit that feels startlingly relevant in our current age of curated online perfection. The Face magazine, from its launch in 1980 to its initial closure in 2004 (and subsequent 2019 relaunch), wasn't just about fashion; it was a cultural seismograph, registering the tremors of youth culture, music, and societal shifts. This exhibition, curated by Sabina Jaskot-Gill with Lee Swillingham and Norbert Schoerner, argues persuasively that The Face's influence extends far beyond the glossy pages of its time, resonating even more powerfully in today's filtered digital world.
The exhibition design cleverly mirrors the magazine's dynamic energy. Spread across Floor 0 of the gallery, the layout is anything but linear. Display cabinets jut out from the walls, creating a sense of discovery and disrupting the traditional gallery experience. The scale of the prints is crucial; these aren't tucked-away snapshots but bold declarations of style and identity. The chronological flow is loose, allowing thematic connections to emerge organically. Visitors, a mix of ages and styles – from those who clearly lived through the Face era, sporting vintage band tees and Dr. Martens, to younger attendees in streetwear that echoes the magazine's aesthetic – move through the space with a palpable sense of engagement. Many linger over specific images, pointing and sharing anecdotes. The air crackles with a mixture of nostalgia and a sense of rediscovering a lost boldness.
The exhibition deftly moves beyond surface impressions to explore the core tenets that made The Face a cultural force. The Face actively rebelled against the airbrushed perfection prevalent in 1980s fashion magazines. The exhibition highlights this through key images like Day's Kate Moss series and Juergen Teller's unsparing portraits. While precise comparative data on retouching practices is difficult to obtain retrospectively, a visual comparison within the exhibition itself is telling. Adjacent displays featuring covers from contemporary magazines like Vogue and Elle (sourced from the NPG's archives) show a stark contrast: a predominance of highly stylized, flawless models. The Face, in comparison, championed a natural, almost documentary style, showcasing imperfections as badges of authenticity.
The exhibition showcases the breadth of The Face's coverage, a balance between portraits of musicians, fashion figures, and subjects representing broader social and cultural themes. This mix underscores the magazine's ambition to transcend the narrow confines of music journalism, embracing a wider cultural landscape. Early covers featuring Adam Ant and Boy George, photographed in vivid color, stand in sharp contrast to the black-and-white documentary style of music journalism at the time.
The Face fostered a collaborative environment where photographers were given significant creative freedom. Curator Sabina Jaskot-Gill, in the exhibition text, emphasizes that the magazine "prioritized the photographer's vision, allowing them to develop a distinct style and voice." This is evident in the diverse range of photographic approaches on display, from Sheila Rock's punk-influenced portraits to Stéphane Sednaoui's high-energy fusion of streetwear and surrealism. The exhibition also showcases the influence of stylists like Ray Petri of the Buffalo collective, whose work challenged conventional gender norms.
While "The Face: Culture Shift" is undeniably a powerful and evocative exhibition, it's not without its limitations. The focus on portraiture, while visually stunning, inevitably neglects the magazine's written content. While some magazine spreads are included, they primarily serve to showcase the visual design. A more comprehensive representation of The Face's journalism, particularly its coverage of social and political issues would have provided a more nuanced understanding of its impact. In the exhibition, there are thematically arranged displays that discuss controversial topics such as the magazine's "heroin chic" era. Corinne Day's gritty portraits, for example, exemplify the aesthetic that sparked this debate. Furthermore, the celebratory tone, while understandable, risks glossing over some of the more problematic aspects of the magazine's history. The "heroin chic" aesthetic, for example, while visually striking, sparked considerable debate about the glamorization of drug use. The exhibition touches upon this controversy, but a more in-depth exploration of the ethical considerations would have been valuable. It is worth noting that the £25.50 ticket price also raises questions about accessibility, potentially excluding the very audience that The Face originally championed.
Stepping back out into the present day, the contrast is stark. The curated perfection of Instagram feeds, the ubiquitous use of filters, and the pressure to present an idealized online persona feel worlds away from the raw, unvarnished aesthetic of The Face. And yet, it is precisely this contrast that makes the exhibition so compelling. The Face's legacy isn't simply about the specific images on display; it's about the attitude they represent – a defiant rejection of artifice, a celebration of individuality, and a commitment to visual storytelling that goes beyond the surface. The exhibition’s true value lies in its ability to spark a critical dialogue about the images we consume and the narratives they construct. It's a reminder that authenticity, even with its imperfections, can be far more powerful and enduring than any filter. "The Face: Culture Shift" doesn't offer easy answers, but it poses vital questions about the role of visual culture in shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. It implicitly encourages us to seek out diverse voices, to question the manufactured realities presented to us, and to embrace the messy, beautiful, and undeniably real.
20 February - 18 May 2025
Floor 0
£23 / 25.50 with donationFree for Members