Out of Focus at the Saatchi Gallery

I loved this piece by Maro Pascual, a simple, classically shot portrait that could'vecome from a yearbook but the presentation of the ripped and then framed photograph draws you in to wonder about the girl's backstory giving an unsettling quality

 A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to go to a private view of the new exhibition of photography at the Saatchi Gallery, 'Out of Focus', organised by Times+. I went along with a friend of mine who is a brilliant photographer. Below is a snap of us outside the gallery, I'd decided to try a tonal look, I wasn't quite bold enough to go with 100% one colour (nor is it possible with my wardrobe) but I liked the combination of the two shades of blue and the pop of yellow.

SHOES: Russel&Bromley - TROUSERS: Vintage, Balda - BELT: Vintage - T-SHIRT Made by me BAG Fossil - EARRINGS Gilda's Tryst

It was a real pleasure to get a guided tour round the exhibition by the curator, a charming french woman who pointed out key pieces in each room and explained the reasons for grouping certain artists together which was particularly interesting given the lack of a structured theme and the fact the featured artists are relative unknowns.


The show is probably the most enjoyable as a whole of those I've visited at the Saatchi. It explores different methods of photography, going beyond capturing images to the manipulation of existing images from archival footage and magazines as well as abstract works using film damaged during processing. However I found that there was less work that seemed to have the level of 'shock factor' for the sake of it that is often offputting in Saatchi's collections.I wonder if this is because of the medium that the exhibition featured, as photography is relatively new there are more subjects that are yet to be comprehensively explored or can be looked at in new ways. It also means that we have less preconceived notions about what photographs should be, so although the featured collages and manipulations are not what would normally come to mind with photography we are more open to these new ideas.

 Follow the jump for some of my favourite work in the exhibition