Daniel Azoulay Gallery

Lauran London. Through Feb 10th, 2009. The newly relocated to Midtown Miami, Daniel Azoulay Gallery, is presenting a solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based photographer Laura London titled Exposed through February 10th, 2009.

For this exhibition, London is showing work from three series different series titled Couples, Groups and Friends; the “True Self: Portrait Series and the Sketch Book Dressing Room Portrait Series.

In the series Couples, Groups and Friends, Laura London examines teenagers in social environments, in urban landscapes and dreamlike settings. These cinematically constructed photographs convey both the naturalness and the self-consciousness that pervade all adolescent interaction. London’s use of a mixture of natural and artificial lighting alludes to both the awkwardness of teenage interaction and the transitional nature of the contemporary era. Laura London choreographs all aspects of these seemingly candid teenage moments. The work examines the social, psychological and physical environment teens occupy while hanging out.  The group portrait subjects hold their own in a mise en scène, implying the balancing act these teenagers must make between technological advancement and attempts to remain grounded in a more natural way of living.

Since graduating from California Institute of the Arts, photographer Laura London has examined various notions and stereotypes of the feminine. In the True Self: Portrait Series and the Sketch Book Dressing Room Portrait Series, she explores more closely the inner life and early development of identity in young women as it is constructed both culturally and individually.

At first glance, her documentary-style photographs of punk rock chicks and other teenage girls may appear to be the work of a social anthropologist.  However, these staged teen dramas depicting beauty rituals, fashions and other habits of young girls in bedrooms, bathrooms and shopping malls are narratives constructed by the artist herself. Working more like a filmmaker, London recreates the angst and everyday activities associated with this awkward time by carefully choosing the models, locations, lighting and costumes for each photograph.

Although her work deals specially with the subject of teenage girls, Laura London’s work shares similar formal and conceptual concerns with other contemporary photographers like Cindy Sherman, Jeff Wall and Sharon Lockhart.  In the “True Self: Portrait Series”, London uses photographic printing paper with a highly reflective surface similar to a mirror – an object with which many of her young subjects are often engaged.  This material quality furthers her notions of narcissism, the social affirmation of identity and the “true” inner self commonly associated with this female stage of development. This series of London’s work examines personal, cultural and social identity that is deeply appealing to the viewer in a dialog about youth and contemporary culture that is timely and pertinent today.

Daniel Azoulay Gallery
Midtown Miami 4 Building
3301 NE 1st Avenue
Suite 105
Miami, FL 33137
305.576.1977
www.danielazoulaygallery.com