In her first solo exhibition with Flowers Gallery, London-based photographer Gabby Laurent investigates the dichotomy between the safe and domestic and the dangerous and vulnerable. Often using herself as subject, Laurent's practice rests at the junction between photography and performance, inspired by feminist and performance art history.
Presented in this exhibition are works from her Falling (2021) series, a five-year project in which Laurent photographed herself repeatedly mid-fall. The series, which was published as a photobook by Loose Joints in 2021, explores the idea of 'falling' both in its slapstick and vulnerable connotations.
Also presented are works from her new, ongoing Wearables series, which Laurent notes puts forward a "deconstructed" view of domesticity. Photographing herself in hand-made garments made from household materials including old curtains and carpet fibre, Laurent explores the ways in which the domestic can be both a source of comfort and restriction. Laurent writes: "The work embraces the contradiction that can exist in the home, simultaneously as a site for comfort and one of terror. It is soft and domestic in the materials used, but confrontational in assembly and posture."
