One Doesn’t Stop Seeing. One Doesn’t Stop Framing. It Doesn’t Turn off and Turn on. It’s on all the Time
Commissioned by UBS, legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz’s latest exhibition is open to the public at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
Review by Andy Barnham
Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, off the beaten track in London’s less than glamorous E1 postcode, is the location for the latest incarnation of Annie Leibovitz’s WOMEN: New Portraits exhibition following her initial ‘Women’ series published in 1999. Sponsored by UBS, as the exclusive commissioning partner, the exhibition will evolve over the coming year as it travels to nine global destinations including Tokyo, Hong Kong and New York, where Leibovitz will photograph additional women in the host cities.
The exhibition itself is comprised of four main sections. Shots from the original series (in a variety of sizes with A4 being the largest), alongside the new portraits (approximately A3 in size), comprise the only prints on display, pinned onto a long board. The other three sections are comprised of TV screens arranged to present Leibovitz’s work on a much larger and grander scale. Two of the sections have different slideshows of work on loop while the final section is a static portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. An adjacent room contains books of Leibovitz’s work for visitors to peruse. For those concerned about such a large space in the current January cold snap, the exhibition is well heated.
As the title suggests, all the subjects shown are women and in regards to the actual exhibition there are women of ‘outstanding achievement’ including artists, musicians, CEOs, politicians, writers and philanthropists. These include studio shots alongside photos taken in the workplace and office space with the majority of the women gazing meaningfully off camera presented in a combination of Leibovitz’s signature look and feel alongside more candid and less staged shots of the women in their own homes and space. The variety in shot type and treatment shows Leibovitz’s skill behind the camera offering more than just her flat and commercial Vanity Fair style that has become so fashionable of late. However the layout of the photos on the boards and their size is underwhelming, especially when viewed next to the large TV panels, which dominate the sizeable Wapping space. Given the pre-eminence of the women depicted it is a shame the presentation of the prints, often with multiple pin holes in the corners, are so reminiscent of a student project rather than one of the world’s most well known portrait photographers.
The two slideshows, on the dominating TV screens, offer a view into the rest of Leibovitz’s archive and body of work while keeping to the theme of women. Alongside celebrities are cheerleaders, and next to images of grand homes are street shots; what is lacking in the prints is more than made up by the work presented on the screens. Given the quality of the work on show it is easy to become absorbed in one slideshow and forget the other, so multiple viewings are recommended. It is this work that is the most impressive of everything shown at Wapping and the sheer volume of it makes one wonder ‘Who hasn’t Leibovitz photographed?’ However one does wonder, given USB’s involvement, why the it is the non commissioned photos that are the centre of attention. 
Enquiries: Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, London E1W 3SL/ www.ubs.com/annieleibovitz
16 January – 7 February 2016
Monday – Sunday 10am – 6pm,
Friday until 8pm.
Admission: Free
Photography:
Misty Copeland, New York City, 2015 © Annie Leibovitz WOMEN New Portraits