Getty Images Exhibits Photos of Women, By Women

Subject, Object, Creator: The Female Gaze presents a selection of seventy photographs of women (and two gender-bending men). 

These are not female subjects, subject to the strangling roles put upon them by mainstream media. These are female subjects, held in the lenses of female photographers seeking to show authentic, personal and unprescribed womanhood.

Subject. Object. Creator: The Female Gaze

Naila Ruechel

To honour the female voice and its refusal to allow restrictive terms of representation, Getty Images has both sought out new talent and partnered with organisations such as LeanIn.org, Refinery 29, and Muslim Girl to open up the scope of stories told through pictures.

The exhibition runs from 5 February – 14 March and consists of a range of styles including composites, self-portraiture, documentary, studio-based portraiture and conceptual. The point of the photographs is not to present a direct opposite to the dominant, male gaze. The collection, rather, reveals an honest visual about modern womanhood.

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Complementing the contemporary works is a selection of archival images from LIFE magazine and the influential women’s magazines Ms. and Jane. In this moment in time, the media has begun to champion female retaliation, such as women’s marches, and condemn men responsible for the abuse of women, such as recently reported sex scandals. Although feminism has erupted in response to recent events, it is important to remember that women have sought equality for decades. The attempt to redefine the manner and style in which women are treated, spoken to, spoken about, and visually represented has a long history into which this exhibition loops back as opposed to picks up from present day.

Shawn Waldron curated the exhibit in partnership with the Getty Images Creative team.

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Free admission, Getty Images Gallery, 46 Eastcastle St, London, W1W 8DX

Where else to take yourself this week? Consult the Town Culture Diary.