Catherine Opie
One of the highlights of the exhibition was Catherine Opie's 'High School Football' series. It's fascinating how she captures these boys at this transitional point in their lives - on the brink of adulthood. I feel that, in high school particularly, there is a pressure to conform to what society's perception of what a man should look like and act like.
The last section of the exhibition was 'Reclaiming the Black Body'. These pieces were from his 'Unbranded: Reflections in Black by Corporate America.' In this series, he removed the text from magazines advertisements from 1968 to 2008 - revealing subliminal messages and how America portrays African American men.
I found Sam Contis' photographs really beautiful and quite poetic. The picture displayed is from her 'Deep Springs' series
Paul Mpagi Sepuya's photographs explore the naked body within a studio space, fragmenting and layering the images in a delicate way.
This video installation was titled ' I'm Too Sad To Tell You' by Bas Jan Ader. In this video, Bas Jan Ader is crying uncontrollably for 3 minutes. It felt quite raw and intense.
My favourite photograph from the exhibition was 'Sons of Cush' by Deana Lawson. There is something really intimate and meaningful about this man's gaze at the viewer. I love all the details in the photograph that reveal details of the man's life.