Tag Archives: PROUD GALLERIES

Absurd Observations a portrait study of Bestival exploring ‘The Art of Dressing Up’

Posted on by
© Kent Mathews and Dan Smith

© Kent Mathews and Dan Smith

Absurd Observations:
A portrait study from Bestival exploring “The Art of Dressing Up”

By Kent Mathews and Dan Smith

23rd July – 10th August 2014

The appeal of Bestival seems to grow each year attracting free-spirits and music lovers alike and creating a truly unique experience for all who attend. Having been the first music festival I ever went to, I jumped at the chance to attend a photo exhibition which has set out to encapsulate the beautiful and bohemian vibe Bestival go-ers can’t seem to get enough of. Held at the Proud Galleries in Camden. ‘Absurd Observations’ features studio portraits taken from Bestival’s book, ’The Art of Dressing Up’ The portraits are a vivid and offer a stylish insight of Bestival go-ers in all of their fancy dress glory taken by photographers Kent Mathews and Dan Smith.

Both hailing from London, Mathews and Smith have carved out very successful photographic careers. Having originally studied Art, Kent Mathews then went on to graduate in Film and Photographic Art. He then went on to work as a fashion and portrait photographer travelling the world and creating an impressive international profile for himself. Dan Smith initially started out in Biology but changed his direction to photography focussing on fashion photography. Smith then went on to work for iconic titles such as Face and Untold and contributing to British Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harpers and Bazaar. Mathews and Smith being friends for years were both keen on collaborating, and it was their love of Bestival which led them to The Bestival Photo Studio.

© Kent Mathews and Dan Smith

 

It’s no surprise really that Bestival continues to go from strength to strength every year as it really is like no other festival. It’s hard to pin it down to one thing when it comes to what makes it truly special but there are a few stand outs what with the magical setting and fun touches such as the WI tea tent and Wishing rave tree, but one of its main feature’s that definitely sets it apart is that it was not only the first festival to incorporate fancy dress but is now the biggest fancy dress party in the world. Every year, Rob and Josie Da Bank, the founders of Bestival, come up with a theme and on the Saturday hold a fancy dress parade for everyone to show off their weird and wonderful creations, (usually with an equally exciting artist on the main stage), my particular favourite soundtrack was The Village People. Its incredible how something as simple as fancy dress has helped create this aura surrounding Bestival and it’s a vibe that is felt by anyone that attends. Evidently, it was the extravagance and extremities of Bestival go-ers and their fancy dress efforts that spurned Matthews and Smith to want to encapsulate this feeling and so The Bestival Photo Studio was born. Mathews explains, “Our goal was to photograph the beautiful mayhem of Bestival goers in a studio setting out of the context of the festival. We approached the portraits with a formulaic methodology and dead pan expression in order to give the body of work a consistency and a feeling reminiscent of a scientific study.”

© Kent Mathews and Dan Smith

To create that truly authentic ‘Bestival experience’, the exhibition was underscored by the legend that is Rob Da Bank with a slideshow of the portraits projected onto the bricks of Proud Galleries. There is something truly mesmerising dancing to the sounds of Bestival whilst watching these ‘dead pan expressions’ which Mathews refers to, dressed in the most extravagant, ridiculous, coolest, silliest and down right hilarious costumes. It’s always a thrill when one of your favourite artists pops up looking silly and fantastic in fancy dress but personally, it was the true beauty and effort of the regular festival attendee which is inspiring here. Mathews and Smith have steered well clear of the ‘off your face’ cliché that usually frequents the average festival go-er something that is bandied around in media so much these days and it just goes to show that their perspective is much more powerful and really captures and stays true to the essence of what makes Bestival one of a kind.

© Kent Mathews and Dan Smith

Absurd Observations will act as a prequel to Bestival and will give the general public a chance to see the photographs which have set out to capture the true essence of such an enchanting and surreal world. The exhibition is free and will run from 23rd July-10 August 2014. As well as this, signed prints are available through the proud website www.proud.co.uk.

Proud continues to be one of the most visited destinations in London boasting three galleries, two live music venues and three Cabaret clubs and continues to expand.

Proud Galleries
The Horse Hospital Stables Market

Chalk Farm Road

London
NW1 8AH

 

keshini misha.

COLDPLAY No.1 Album Painting for Sale in London for Kids Company

Posted on by
COLDPLAY AND PARIS FOR KIDS COMPANY29th November – 2nd December 2012

 

COLDPLAY AND PARIS ARE TO HOST AN EXCLUSIVE EXHIBITION OF ORIGINAL COLDPLAY ARTWORK AT PROUD GALLERIES, CAMDEN FROM 29 NOVEMBER – 2 DECEMBER. 100% OF PROCEEDS FROM ARTWORK SALES WILL GO TO KIDS COMPANY, A CHILDREN’S CHARITY WHICH PROVIDES EMOTIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT TO VULNERABLE CHILDREN.

COLDPLAY posted this about it yesterday:  www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=1106

 

Coldplay have arranged an exclusive exhibition in conjunction with Kids Company, a charity that the group have supported for the last four years. The show, to open at Proud Galleries, Camden on 29 November, will feature three original paintings on canvas by Coldplay and their ‘Mylo Xyloto’ artwork collaborator Paris, as well as the original 7m X 2.5m graffiti wall that became the album artwork. A second wall painted by young children from Kids Company and Paris will be displayed alongside Coldplay’s larger wall.
Also available to purchase: three high-quality prints of the ‘Mylo Xyloto’ album artwork (each a limited edition of 8 and signed by the band); three high-quality album artwork prints (each a limited edition of 650 and signed by Paris); and unseen photographs from Coldplay’s ‘Mylo Xyloto’ world tour taken by Miller (aka Roadie #42), the band’s official tour photographer.

All work is for sale, with 100% of proceeds going to Kids Company, a children’s charity which reaches out to over 17,000 vulnerable young people in the most deprived areas of London. Coldplay’s last public benefit for the charity was in December 2011 when the group were joined by guest artists including Tinie Tempah and Emeli Sande in a benefit show at the 02 in London.


Chris Martin said; “Kids Company is a phenomenal organization that is very close to our hearts. While we were making the last album we did quite a lot of painting with our friend Paris. We built a special wall in our studio and sprayed it, wrote on it and threw things at it until it eventually became the artwork for ‘Mylo Xyloto’. This exhibition will be the first time that the wall has appeared in public”.

Will Champion added; “The big wall and the three paintings are all one-off Coldplay/Paris originals. The money raised will make a big difference to some of London’s most vulnerable children”.

Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder and Kids Company CEO, said; “The support Coldplay have given us over the years has been amazing. Art plays a major role in Kids Company’s work with vulnerable children: kids who have experienced trauma often find it easier to express themselves using art materials rather than words. Our recent award-winning exhibition in partnership with the Royal Academy demonstrated this very powerfully and poignantly”.