Stardust

David Bailey, Man Ray (1968)

It has been a few weeks since a friend and I visited the National Portrait Gallery to see David Baileys exhibition 'Stardust'. However, at that time, we discovered the entrance fee wasn't one we were willing to pay. Luckily for me, my dad visited this weekend and so, after a subtle hint, he bought us tickets to have a look around.

The exhibition itself was packed with people; children, families, couples, a whole range of ages, all coming together to have a look around. All of Baileys best images were set over 11 different rooms with a whole range of work from Fashion and Beauty images to Aboriginals and Skulls. 

Despite having so many images to choose from, I came out of the exhibition an hour and a half later with one favourite which stuck in my mind. This was a portrait of the artist Man Ray; a close up taken in 1968, displayed so large every single detail could be dissected. What caught my attention most was the presence of each individual eyebrow hair and pore in the skin. This image shone a lot brighter than most of the others, causing me to turn back several times to have another look.

The overall exhibition has such a range of work which can be viewed and enjoyed by everyone; whether you're a fan or Bailey or not. I would defiantly go there again and highly recommend it to everyone! 

References

David Bailey, (1968), Man Ray, Available at: http://www.port-magazine.com/feature/top-five-david-baileys-stardust/#&panel1-2 [Accessed 7 April 2014]

Bailey, D, (2024), Stardust, The National Portrait Gallery, [5 April 2014]