The works of over 50 pioneering international artists have been brought together to deconstruct how masculinity is coded, performed and socially constructed in Masculinities: Liberation through Photography, a new exhibition from the Barbican—London’s leading arts institution.
The show features Richard Billingham’s revealing images of his emaciated, alcoholic father; Catherine Opie’s portrait series Being and Having, where her friends sport false mustaches, tattoos and other hyper-masculine signifiers; Richard Mosse’s 2007 film Fraternity, which examines privileged, white, male rage; and others, including internationally-acclaimed photographer Wolfgang Tillmans and Turner Prize-winning Jeremy Deller.
In this film commissioned by the Barbican, NOWNESS creative director and filmmaker Bunny Kinney borrows from the exhibition’s themes to create a playful, pastel-hued, talking-heads film exploring gender roles, patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity.
"The concept was simple: to create a living document of 'masculinity now' embodied by a vibrant array of individuals," says Kinney, who interviewed 16 people whose identities span the spectrum of masculinity. "Each person featured has a different relationship to their own sense of masculinity and what that even means to them."
Masculinities brings together members of the British public with NOWNESS’s creative community to deconstruct gender identity in its myriad forms. The cast includes non-binary designer Harris Reed, choreographer Ivan Blackstock, poet Julian Knox, and photographer and filmmaker Campbell Addy.
"Inspired by the photographers featured in the Barbican exhibition, the film is shot in a deliberately lo-fi and uncomplicated, observational manner," Kinney continues. "It's just a camera, a person and a pink void. We simply asked them to walk on and show us who they are, what they think, and how they move. Perhaps one day, people might look back at these films and interviews as an interesting representation of the changing face of masculinity in the year 2020."