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Josh Made Up

Photograph
2004 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Mary McCartney is a British photographer known for portraiture and fashion photography. She has regularly been commissioned for publications such as Harper's Bazaar and British Vogue, as well as brands including Selfridges, De Beers and the Brit Awards. In 2015 McCartney was chosen to take the official photograph of Queen Elizabeth II to mark the occasion of her becoming the longest reigning Monarch in history. McCartney has had a number of solo exhibitions, including Off Pointe - A Photographic Study of the Royal Ballet After Hours at the Royal Opera House, 2004, and From Where I Stand at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010. She has released two photographic books, Mary McCartney: From Where I Stand in 2010 and Mary McCartney: Monochrome & Colour in 2014.

This selection of fourteen photographs are taken from McCartney’s first solo exhibition, featuring behind the scenes pictures of dancers in the Corps De Ballet during a run of performances at The Royal Opera House between 2004-2007. McCartney has spoken of her desire to capture unguarded, spontaneous moments; for this project, she spent a large amount of time backstage getting to know the dancers, meaning she was able to capture particularly intimate moments when invited into the dancer’s homes and dressing rooms. McCartney deliberately avoided photographing the dancers on stage or in rehearsals. She aimed to explore contradictions between the perfection of the storybook world of ballet depicted onstage with the imperfect reality of the dancer’s day to day lives.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleJosh Made Up (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
gelatin silver print
Brief description
Photograph by Mary McCartney, 'Josh Made Up', from the series 'Off Pointe - A Photographic Study of the Royal Ballet After Hours', 2004, gelatin silver print
Physical description
This photograph depicts a shirtless man wearing a white wig and strong makeup. He gazes into a dressing mirror mid-application: in his hand is a makeup sponge. In front of him makeup products are scattered on a white tabletop.
Dimensions
  • Height: 50.5cm
  • Width: 40.5cm
Credit line
Given by Mary McCartney
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Mary McCartney is a British photographer known for portraiture and fashion photography. She has regularly been commissioned for publications such as Harper's Bazaar and British Vogue, as well as brands including Selfridges, De Beers and the Brit Awards. In 2015 McCartney was chosen to take the official photograph of Queen Elizabeth II to mark the occasion of her becoming the longest reigning Monarch in history. McCartney has had a number of solo exhibitions, including Off Pointe - A Photographic Study of the Royal Ballet After Hours at the Royal Opera House, 2004, and From Where I Stand at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010. She has released two photographic books, Mary McCartney: From Where I Stand in 2010 and Mary McCartney: Monochrome & Colour in 2014.

This selection of fourteen photographs are taken from McCartney’s first solo exhibition, featuring behind the scenes pictures of dancers in the Corps De Ballet during a run of performances at The Royal Opera House between 2004-2007. McCartney has spoken of her desire to capture unguarded, spontaneous moments; for this project, she spent a large amount of time backstage getting to know the dancers, meaning she was able to capture particularly intimate moments when invited into the dancer’s homes and dressing rooms. McCartney deliberately avoided photographing the dancers on stage or in rehearsals. She aimed to explore contradictions between the perfection of the storybook world of ballet depicted onstage with the imperfect reality of the dancer’s day to day lives.
Collection
Accession number
E.309-2018

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Record createdJune 21, 2018
Record URL
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