"Corinne Day, The Face" exhibition

CORINNE DAY - Borneo (Kate in phone booth) August 1991 2011 black & white fibre based lambda print, edition 1/10 + 2 A/Ps c. 26 3/8 x 20 1/8 in / 67 x 51 cm (taken from Gimpel Fils Gallery website)

Gimpel Fils Gallery, from Sept 1st until October 1st 2011, pays tribute to Corinne Day as August 27th marked the one-year anniversary from her death. The charismatic British photographer revolutionised fashion photography in the early 90s with her "daring and provocative images" as the official press release mentions. Self-taught Day used a lot of biographical elements in her shoots which were given a candid and documentary aesthetic, sensationally labelled “heroin chic” as, very correctly, Lucia Davies in her article in AnOther (magazine) points out.

Corinne Day started her career in THE FACE magazine and was the first to shoot Kate Moss at age 16 in "The Third Summer of Love" eight-page editorial. In 1993 Day photographed Kate Moss in her own flat for British Vogue. In the context of a fashion magazine the images appear to have a documentary feel about them and when published caused a certain frisson of discomfort.

This exhibition includes images from Day’s fashion stories, "Heaven is Real" and "Borneo", respectively published in the February ’91 and August ’91 editions of The Face. In these lesser-known images Day captured teenage femininity as ethereal and playful, provocative and unsure. In Heaven is Real, Day evoked the power of female friendship: Through the sequence of images, Kate Moss and Lorraine Pascale appear carefree and exuberant at one moment and hesitant the next. Day always wanted to challenge the convention of overindulgent 'supermodel in exotic location' fashion spreads and in Borneo, she was able to translate the spontaneity of holiday snaps to her professional work. Kate Moss is pictured walking out of the sea in flippers, wandering down the road in flip-flops, making friends with local children.

Additionally to the exhibition in Gimpel Fils Gallery, "Heaven is Real" will be published by Mörel Books featuring unpublished photographs by Corinne Day taken in the late 80s and early 90s. Finally, on Sept 25th 2011, Whitechapel Gallery will screen Corinne Day: Diary 2002 a short film directed by Mark Szaszy. It's a documentary portrait about Day's life moments between 1992 and 2002.