Grace Before Jones
Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio. A new exhibition exploring Grace Jones though image making.
Words Joshua Graham
Antony Barboza, Grace Jones, NYC, 1970s. Courtesy of Barboza Photography.
The word icon gets thrown around a lot these days, but when describing the legendary Grace Jones no other word does her justice. With a career that spans nearly five decades, Jones is a true multi hyphenate. The model, musician and actress captivated the world with her androgynous look and electric sound. A muse to many, her bold creativity continues to inspire and influence artists to this day. Now an exhibit at the Nottingham Contemporary, Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio, explores her illustrious life and career through the power of image making.
In the 70s Jamaican born Grace Jones modelled in Paris for designers like Yves Saint Laurent and Azzedine Aläia. In New York she worked and partied with the likes of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. Venturing into entertainment, Jones has recorded ten studio albums and starred in numerous movies including a role as Bond girl and femme fatale May Day in A View to Kill. Her fluidity as an artist speaks to her resistance to classification, being both Jamaican and French; runway model and nightclub legend; masculine and feminine.
It's the collaborations with various artists and photographers throughout her career that helped fully encapsulate all aspects of the legend that is Grace Jones. Antonio Lopez captures her exuberant sexuality in “Nus Instamatic”, while Ming Smith reveals her vulnerable femininity in “Untitled (Grace Jones Ballerina)”. Rejecting the binary and embracing ambiguity, Jones spent her life exploring the spectrum of identity to its fullest.
Curated by Cédric Fauq and Olivia Aherne, the exhibition doesn't set out to define the undefinable Grace Jones, rather it explores how she challenged perceptions of gender, sexuality, and racial identity through performativity and image making. Providing both a historical and contemporary perspective featuring over 100 works by some 40 artists including Jean-Paul Goude, Peter Hujar, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Antonio Lopez, “Nus Instamatica”, PHOTO Magazine, Grace Jones, 1977. Copyrighted to The Estate of Anonio Lopez and Juan Ramos.
Antonio Lopez, LUI Magazine (Cover), Grace Jones, 1977. Copyright of The Estate of Antony Lopez and Juan Ramos.
Richard Bernstein, Grace Jones Mask for Warm Leatherette 1980. The estate of Richard Bernstein.
Richard Bernstein, Grace Jones photograph for On Your Knees, 1979. Eric Boman Courtesy of the Estate of Richard Bernstein.
Richard Bernstein, Inside Gatefold Art for Fame, 1977. The Estate of Richard Bernstein.
Ming Smith, Untitled (Grace Jones) 1975. Courtesy of the Artist and Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York and San Francisco.
Richard Bernstein, VAMP, 1986. The Estate of Richard Bernstein.
Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio is on now until January 3, 2021 at Nottingham Contemporary.
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