From the Barbican’s mammoth study of masculinity in photography to the first exhibition of Steve McQueen’s work in the UK in two decades
- TextBelle Hutton
See Masculinities: Liberation Through Photography at the Barbican
The Barbican’s long-awaited exhibition Masculinities: Liberation Through Photography opens on February 20. The mammoth show – which counts contributions from over 50 artists – will explore the myriad ways that image-makers have explored masculinity and its complex variations. With sections addressing female perceptions of masculinity, hyper-masculine stereotypes, power, patriarchy and queer identity, Masculinities promises a nuanced look at how we see men today.
Watch Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s acclaimed new film Parasite hits UK cinemas today. The film is nominated for six Academy Awards at this weekend’s Oscars, and tells a surreal and satirical, darkly comic tale of two families in South Korea. “What’s interesting about this story is that it could be our story,” the film’s co-writer Han Jin Won told AnOther. “It could be the story of our neighbours, of someone we know.” Be sure to consult our guide to Joon-ho’s oeuvre too, featuring five more of his must-watch films.
See Steve McQueen’s first UK exhibition in 20 years
On February 13, Tate Modern opens its exhibition dedicated to Steve McQueen – his first major show in the UK since winning the Turner Prize in 1999. McQueen – whose work is also on show currently at Tate Britain, where his project Year 3, class photographs of tens of thousands of London’s primary school children, lines the institution’s Duveen Galleries – will show work spanning film, photography and sculpture, including pioneering films like End Credits, previously unseen in the UK.
Shop JW Anderson, Paco Rabanne, Comme des Garçons Homme
The menswear show season may be over, but a host of new launches and collaborations are worth paying attention to (and investing in) this month. Following JW Anderson’s Autumn/Winter 2020 show in Paris in January, the brand launched a selection of see-now-buy-now knitwear, created in collaboration with the estate of David Wojnarowicz. The jumpers – in varying colourways of red, black and white – depict a version of Wojnarowicz’s 1982 artwork Untitled (Burning House), and proceeds go towards the organisation Visual AIDS. Paco Rabanne debuted its first men’s line earlier this month, which has launched on Matches Fashion for Spring/Summer 2020 and features a collaboration with the seminal graphic designer Peter Saville. A further covetable collaboration can be found at Dover Street Market now too, where Comme des Garçons Homme shirts are printed with beautiful photographs by Jamie Hawkesworth.
See Pop Crimes: The Songs of Rowland S. Howard at the Southbank Centre
Musicians including Bobby Gillespie, Mick Harvey, Lydia Lunch and others are taking part in a series of gigs, Pop Crimes, to celebrate the life and legacy of Rowland S. Howard, arriving at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on February 12. The late musician made a name for himself in Australia’s post-punk scene, performing with bands like The Young Charlatans, The Birthday Party (alongside Nick Cave and Harvey) and These Immortal Souls. In March of this year, two of Howard’s acclaimed albums – Teenage Snuff Film and Pop Crimes – will be released, having been remastered.
See Liz Johnson Artur: Dusha at Contemporary Art Museum St Louis, Missouri
Catch Liz Johnson Artur’s exhibition Dusha in Missouri until April 19, 2020. The London-based, Russian-Ghanian photographer has been adding images to her Black Balloon Archive since the 1980s, building a wide-reaching series that capture the people of the African diaspora. “I didn’t plan to photograph the African diaspora for 30 years, I think I just grew into it,” Johnson Artur told Dazed last year. “It became my way of looking at things.”
