An exhibition opening night like no other will take place early in the new year at Gallery Central, Perth, when Permission, the latest collection of Nudescapes by photographer and artist Lauren Crooke will launch to the public.
On top of the reveal of this new collection, the opening night celebrations will see Crooke conducting a group nude photoshoot for the guests to witness.
Permission features breathtaking and thought-provoking pieces captured across Australia and combine Crooke’s trademark medium; the nude form of women and nonbinary people, with her radical, Western Art-inspired creative composition, and empower viewers while inciting conversation and raising awareness about gendered sexual violence, oppression, and inequality.
To propel this message to the guests of opening night, Crooke will be using art as her vessel through demonstrating one of her group nude photoshoots. This immersive and evocative experience aims to connect the viewers with the art by allowing them to a behind-the-scenes look at how the pieces are created while encouraging them to reflect on the way they feel about the relationship between women and non-binary bodies and the concept of permission.
When devising the plan for opening night, Crooke’s vision was met with concerns that guests may feel confronted by the nudity to which Lauren Crooke welcomed the opportunity to educate.
“Let them sit with their discomfort and wonder why they feel that way. I truly believe that allowing them to be a part of the art will begin to shift and change their pre-conceived ideas about the female nude.”.
Those participating in the live photoshoot will be women and non-binary people who have previously participated in one of Crooke’s group nude shoots – you may even spot some of them in the Nudescapes in the exhibition, for example the print which shares its name with this collection, Permission, which was taken in the middle of a busy intersection in the middle of Perth’s financial district, on St Georges Terrace.
This collection has been two years in the making following her previous exhibition, SEEN, (2020) which showed at Whitespace, Fremantle and grabbed the attention of Perth media and continued to grow a community of likeminded people across Australia who are empowered and connected through Lauren’s art and cause.
The realisation that her photography could create powerful impact by galvanising community inspired the independent documentary Tour De Nood (currently in production) which follows Lauren and her team across Australia conducting her photoshoots in capital cities and shines a spotlight on the systemic and societal frameworks that allow gender-based sexual violence, oppression and inequality, and the sexualisation, censorship, and commodification of women and nonbinary bodies to continue to exist in Australia and beyond.
Nude prints from Tour De Nood will be released for the first time at Permission. The entire collection plus behind the scenes images have been made into a high-end ‘coffee table’ book which features personal write-ups from selected photoshoots and will be available for pre-order on opening night.
Opening Night: January 5, 2023, Tenancy at Gallery Central: January 6 – 20, 2023, Artist Floor Talk and Q&A event: January 14, 2023.
Source: Media Release
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