{"id":329685,"date":"2025-08-09T04:47:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T04:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/329685\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T04:47:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T04:47:14","slug":"this-bold-new-photo-show-explores-vulnerability-and-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/329685\/","title":{"rendered":"This Bold New Photo Show Explores Vulnerability and Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

From kink-inflected portraits to poetic meditations on places of sanctuary, 12 rising photographers explore what armour means to themAugust 08, 2025<\/p>\n

Emerging artists today are making their start in a particularly uncertain world. In an era of global unrest and downturn, the act of armouring oneself, emotionally and practically, has never felt more necessary. As an artist and photography lecturer at LCF, it\u2019s something Cole Flynn Quirke<\/strong> knows well. Borrowing its title from a Guided By Voices song, his new exhibition Quality of Armour<\/strong> (opening at Waste Space in east London tomorrow) invites 12 rising photographers to offer their interpretations of the theme. \u201cMy intention for this show was to curate work that represents the armour we use to protect ourselves on a more personal and profound level,\u201d he tells AnOther. \u201cPossibly an object, a person, or place that, even for a brief moment, keeps our existential demons at bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capturing people and places in grainy, poignantly composed frames, Quirke is an RCA graduate who got his start as Nick<\/a> and Susie Cave<\/a>\u2019s in-house photographer. He\u2019s since released two books published by Jane and Jeremy Books which explore ideas of solitude and the \u201csundown on the devil-may-care\u201d days of youth, as well as creating evocative black and white images for Belgian label Ann Demeulemeester. <\/p>\n

The first seeds for his new exhibition, Quality of Armour, were sown back in 2019 following his debut solo exhibition at the Truman Brewery. \u201cIt was about memorialising the people in your life who act as a proverbial oak tree, the most consistent and loved,\u201d he says. \u201cIn recent years, I have become friends with a lot of artists who I feel share the same ethos and thought it would be exciting to do a small exhibition of works in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pin<\/a>\"QualityQuality of ArmourPhotography by Yasuhiko Iida<\/p>\n

Quirke knows each of the artists personally, lending the curation a particular note of intimacy. Each has taken the theme of armour in their own direction; some startlingly severe and others more gesturally emotive. Kaan Alexander Olcay captures a girl smiling through an eyeless latex mask; Jack Van Giap looks to the spectral comfort of the night sky in a triptych; and Yasuhiko Iida photographs loved ones and places that offer him protection, from the lapping waves of the sea in Japan to the fields of Hyde Park in springtime. \u201cThe only rule for the show was that everything had to be handprinted,\u201d says Quirke. \u201cThis was because of the level of intimacy and care it takes when you\u2019re in a darkroom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quirke\u2019s own images are also in the show \u2013 a series of hard-to-place black and white shots of bodies and landscapes, including an arm with fresh bitemarks imprinted into the skin and mottled cloud formation at daybreak. \u201cMy artwork has always been depicting life in one way or another, and a big part of that is exploring ourselves,\u201d he says. \u201cI grew up skating, and as I got older, I became aware of a lot of insecurity and vulnerability in some mates of mine, hidden behind a cool guy exterior. [I think it was a] sort of armour to protect their mental health. Ultimately, I think showing one\u2019s vulnerability is really brave, so I wanted to explore that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pin<\/a>\"QualityQuality of ArmourPhotography by Cole Flynn Quirke<\/p>\n

Quirke hopes this feeling extends to the gallery space itself, too. \u201cI\u2019d like it to be a laidback experience \u2013 it\u2019s a cool little space, so it doesn\u2019t demand silence or awkwardness like a big clinical gallery,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d like people to feel some sort of comfort after visiting, and hopefully leave feeling a little warmer and inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quality of Armour<\/a> is on show at Waste Space in London from 9 \u2013 13 August 2025. Exhibited artists include Georgia Sydney Jones, Evan Purdy, Jack Van Giap, Kaan Olcay, Cole Flynn Quirke, Molly Emma, Harvey Flynn Quirke, Natalia Theodoulidis, Yasuhiko Iida, Siam Coy, Lucas Edwards and Chiara Gabellini.\u00a0<\/p>\n