Gentlemen of Bradford
Six young men work with award-winning photographer Paul Floyd Blake to create a series of portraits exploring male fashion, identity and style.
As part of Gentlemen of Bradford, six young men aged between 13 and 19 from Dixon’s Allerton Academy worked with award-winning photographer Paul Floyd Blake using photographic portraiture to explore male fashion, identity and style.
The project took inspiration from the book ‘Gentlemen of Bacongo’ by Daniele Tamagni, which depicts a group of flamboyant and elegantly-dressed men from the Atlantic coast of Africa. Over a series of workshops, Mohammed Abaas, Mohammed Azam, Ramzan Alyas, Ali Butt, Bailey Lal, and Hasan Sheikh discussed ideas about image and identity, and how they wanted to be portrayed. The resulting portraits reveal their wide-ranging influences, from weight-lifting to Lady Gaga.
Paul Floyd Blake, who won the prestigious National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2009, said ‘photography has the ability to stop time and allow us to step out of the chaos of life to reflect on who we are’.
The resulting exhibition was launched with a celebration party at Impressions Gallery on Saturday 11 June 2011 by Saleem Kader, the Managing Director of Bombay Stores, Bradford’s famous fashion retailer.
The exhibition ran from 11 June to 27 August 2011.
Gentlemen of Bradford was part of Art in Yorkshire – supported by Tate, a year long celebration of the visual arts in 19 galleries throughout Yorkshire.
What our visitors said...
“It was truly inspiring to see the passion that had been brought out in those young chaps and I hope you are able to continue to engage with young people in this manner.”
“I love this exhibition! Each portrait has so much personality – keep up the style Gentlemen of Bradford!”
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