Michael Wolf Exhibition @ Flowers Gallery

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Posted 2011-11-14 by Karys McEwen ⇒ follow

Fri 25 Nov 2011 - Sat 07 Jan 2012

Michael Wolf used to be a photojournalist until he decided that the decline in the magazine industry led to photojournalism becoming “stupid and boring” (his words, not mine).

The fine art photography that Wolf has focused on since 2003 is uniquely cutting edge and innovative, and proves more than ever that he is truly a master of his instrument. Wolf has been rigorously concerned with the topic of vernacular culture for many years and his most latest work delves deep into the realms of cultural identity, especially in cities such as Hong Kong, where he lives and works.

His emergence into non-editorial photography began with the series Bastard Chairs where he battled against police and critics who thought his work was damaging to the Chinese state, portraying it as backwards.

Copy Art/Real Fake Art saw him documenting painters who copied famous works of art, and is a compelling look into authenticity and the values of art.

100x100 is an investigation into the ideas of limited space, by showing images of residents in a public housing complex.

One of his most recent series, A Series of Unfortunate Events , saw him taking photographs of Google Street View scenes on his computer screen. He refers to this astonishing series as a “statement on art”, and what a remarkable statement it is.

He has had many a photography book published, all which are beautifully presented and several of which have been nominated as the most influential photobooks of the 21st century so far.

Are you intrigued enough to want to see his work in person? Flowers Gallery on Kingsland Road is holding an exhibition of some of his newer photographs, including the incredible Tokyo Compression series, from the 25th of November to the 7th of January. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, this is your chance to see some of the incredible prints up close, and trust me when I say that images on a computer screen just don’t do them justice. They need to be seen in a gallery to be truly appreciated and admired.