Work by Mikhael Subotzky, Hank Willis Thomas and Kiluanji Kia Henda’s forms part of 'Masculinities: Liberation Through Photography', a group exhibition showing at The Barbican from 20 February to 17 May. The exhibition features 50 artists whose photographic work, dating from the 1960s through to the present, captures how masculinity is experienced, performed, coded and socially constructed. Following its run at The Barbican, the exhibition moves to Arles in June and to Berlin in October.
Jane Alison, Head of Visual Arts, Barbican, said: "I am delighted that we can now reopen our 'Masculinities: Liberation through Photography' exhibition, which had met with such acclaim earlier in the year. It is not to be missed during this limited run. Masculinities continues our commitment to presenting leading twentieth century figures in the field of photography while also supporting younger contemporary artists working in the medium today. Given the inclusion of such a diverse array of images, the exhibition enriches our understanding of what it is to be a man in today’s world."
With ideas around masculinity and terms such as ‘toxic’ and ‘fragile’ masculinity filling endless column inches, the exhibition surveys the representation of masculinity in all its myriad forms, rife with contradiction and complexity. Presented across six sections by over 50 international artists to explore the expansive nature of the subject, the exhibition touches on themes of queer identity, the black body, power and patriarchy, female perceptions of men, hypermasculine stereotypes, fatherhood and family. The works in the show present masculinity as an unfixed performative identity shaped by cultural and social forces.
