This year our ambitious presentation is in three parts.
The Countess of Castiglione. The Creation of a Legend.
We are delighted to present the very first London exhibition of one of the greatest figures in the history of photography, the Countess of Castiglione.
Directed and staged by the Countess, herself, and created in collaboration with the studio photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson, these “self-portraits” are some of the most extraordinary pictures in the history of photography, precursors to fashion photography and performative self-portraiture.
This exhibition at Photo London presents some of the most famous images of the Countess and two exquisite, recently-discovered painted photographs of her which will be exhibited at Photo London for the very first time.
This major solo exhibition includes over fifty rare portraits of the Countess from the 1850s to the 1890s. Directed and staged by the Countess, herself, and created in collaboration with the studio photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson, these “self-portraits” are some of the most extraordinary pictures in the history of photography, precursors to fashion photography and performative self-portraiture. Today, we live in a world of selfies and social media: an Instagram world of constructed identities, performance and disguise. But before all this, before super-models and influencers - 150 years ago - one of the most radical figures of the nineteenth century was pioneering new forms of fashion and conceptual photography: autofiction. In hundreds of portraits produced over a period of decades the Countess staged scenarios and performed different roles, to present different characters and personalities and to reflect multiple, fluid, unfixed identities.
Visit the Viewing Room
Heather Agyepong
We will present works from Heather Agyepong’s successful series Too Many Blackamoors (2015). Additionally as winner of the Emerging Photographer Award 2021, Heather will exhibit work from her recent series Wish You Were Here (2020) at the Nikon Space at Photo London.
Major Works
We will present a selection of vintage photographs from the 19th and 20th century including Shirley Baker, Cecil Beaton, Bill Brandt, Nigel Henderson, David Hurn, Colin Jones, Andre Kertesz, Dora Maar, Charles Negre, Tony Ray-Jones, Edward Steichen and Julien Vallou De Villeneuve.
