MANIFESTO

#61

ART NOW

A GLINT IN THE KINDLING

2021.10.18

EDITION by
PINCH PUBLISHING

Michael Bailey-Gates’s new book imagines new ways of being within the confines of a binary. The thirty-five powerful photographs present personal truths shaped by the imagination.

In the world of Michael Bailey-Gates’ photographs, subjects get to play pretend. Imitation is as profound a practice as embodiment. The split between “being” and “looking like” breaks down. In Michael’s work, the subjects are what they look like, and this elision demands ambitious dreaming – and questioning – from the viewer.”- Cyrus Dunham
Author and activist Cyrus Dunham curated the introductory text to A Glint In The Kindling, Michael Bailey-Gates new book, edited by Pinch Publishing. The writer shares a very personal experience drawn from his own shoot session with Michael and sheds light on the photographer’ powerful aesthetic and photographic potential. In A Glint In The Kindling Michael imagines new ways of being within the confines of a binary. Existing both as subject and photographer, the images present these personal truths shaped by the imagination. Much of Michael’s work, reveals the artifice of the photograph which is present in the frame: the edge of the backdrop or cord that leads to the shutter, for example, which leaves the spectator with a set of questions about the conditions of the subject: Why is she photographing herself? What does she want us to believe? What is she trying to prove? It is this transparency in the image-making that reflects the subjects within and invite us to enter a world of freedom where everyone is whatever feel like being.

 

In photographing me, Mike created a kind of container. I do think that’s a big part of what Mike does— seeing into people, and then letting them play towards their own fantasies. That changes people, and they end up doing things they might not have otherwise, if they hadn’t had the chance to do it in front of Michael’s camera. Fake it ‘til you make it, the “it” being you, whatever that may be.

-Cyrus Dunham

EXHIBITION

SARAH LUCAS

2023.09.25

London’s Tate Britain presents HAPPY GAS, Sarah Lucas’ solo exhibition exploring the British artist’s forty years of work.

CINEMA

ASTEROID CITY BY WES ANDERSON

2023.09.22

Anderson’s new film is about a desert town where a group of young geniuses gather for an invention contest. It is a dreamlike place, à la Anderson, where the universe, the meaning of life and the meaning of death are contemplated. Like any place of the director, it is unexplored and unknown…

PHOTOGRAPHY

LUIGI & IANGO. UNVEILED

2023.09.21

A visionary creative expression characterized by breaking roles and codes, the invention and construction of characters that create a unique visual narrative, but above all reveal a truth that only Luigi & Iango know how to capture.

SPRÜTH MAGERS

NORA TURATO

2023.09.15

Playing with a direct, fast-paced wording and an instant, common lexicon, Nora Turato creates new recounting and convincing connections. Her work involves the comment and adaptation of existing material, slightly processing their forms and meanings.

FASHION

REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion

2023.09.15

The exhibition represents a close collaboration between The Design Museum in London and the British Fashion Council, carried out by exploring the artistic and creative work of different designers revolving around London’s reality. Clothes and fashion accessories are the focus of the survey carried out for REBEL.