Early Photographic Work Exhibited in 'Don’t Look Back', Unit Gallery, Mayfair, London, curated by Beth Greenacre and Sigrid Kirk, (24 September - 26 October 2025)

Billingham, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6474-5656 (2025) Early Photographic Work Exhibited in 'Don’t Look Back', Unit Gallery, Mayfair, London, curated by Beth Greenacre and Sigrid Kirk, (24 September - 26 October 2025). [Show/Exhibition]

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Abstract

Early photographic work from Billingham's series 'Ray's a Laugh' was exhibited in the group show 'Don’t Look Back', Unit Gallery, Mayfair, London, curated by Beth Greenacre and Sigrid Kirk,(September 24 - October 26, 2025). This exhibition re-examined the ‘90s & Noughties through a contemporary lens conceived to be inclusive, diverse, and alive with possibility. The exhibition was multi-layered exhibition and aimed to channel the raw creative drive of the 1990s and early 2000s – an era defined by bold, irreverent gestures – into today’s world. It sought to represent the vitality, grit and humour found across different communities at that time, and how that spirit continues to evolve today in its embrace of queer voices, powerful female identities and broader expressions of individuality that stretch far beyond the laddish narratives often attached to that period. In a time marked by uncertainty and cultural pause, that same urgency feels vital now. The exhibition aimed to tap into a renewed impulse to make, to gather and to act. Through painting, sculpture, performance and installation, the exhibition brought together a cross-generational group of artists whose work captured a restless momentum of collective creativity. At the time, artists like Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Richard Billingham and Gavin Turk pushed boundaries in visual art, confronting norms with playful irreverence and raw honesty. While this convergence of art and music was quickly courted by New Labour’s “Cool Britannia,” it also sowed seeds of defiance and DIY experimentation that artists continue to build on today. Don’t Look Back questioned how these legacies endure, reimagined through more intersectional and inclusive lenses. The exhibition structure reflected the charged atmosphere of a live gig, with audiences moving through spaces that echo the momentum of a live performance, from grassroots creativity and the collective energy of shared space, to slower, more introspective works that speak to desire, fragility, and the deeply personal stakes of artistic production. The curators noted, “With Don’t Look Back, we set out to create a defining cultural moment that reflects on the evolving legacies of the 1990s and 2000s while looking decisively forward. Staged like a multi‐gig event, it rips up the rulebook on what an exhibition can be, reimagining that era’s defiance through today’s expansive artistic expressions. It avoids nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, instead foregrounding experimentation, humour, and the idea of a living legacy.” Besides Billingham, other artists exhibited included Mary McCartney, Tracy Emin, Gavin Turk, Keith Coventry, Elaine Constantine, Peter Liversidge, Thomas J Price, Thomas Cameron, Pam Evelyn, George Shaw, mark Titchner, Richard Wilson, James White, Linda Sterling, Grace Clifford, Polly Morgan, Florence Peak and others.

Item Type:	Show/Exhibition
Related URLs:	https://www.instagram.com/reel/DObQVRAjB... https://www.instagram.com/p/DObNepeDLA6/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DObQVRAjB...
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Arts, Culture and Environment
Depositing User:	Richard Billingham
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2025 08:43
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2025 08:43
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15325

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