Sunil Gupta: Lovers: Ten Years On & Lovers, Revisited

15 Jun-31 Aug 2024

Overview

This Summer, The Art House will welcome internationally renowned photographer Sunil Gupta to exhibit in Yorkshire for the very first time.

The exhibition will revisit Gupta’s significant project, Lovers: Ten Years On which he first began in 1984 to reframe the lives of gay couples and challenge commercial stereotypes in visual culture. Approaching a milestone 40th anniversary, the artist will present a selection of the original series, alongside brand-new large-scale photographs made for the premiere of Lovers, Revisited, with collaborator, and husband, Charan Singh.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Gupta has maintained a visionary approach to photography, producing work that is pioneering in social and political commentary. The importance of giving space to Lovers: Ten Years On extends beyond its significance as it stood in the 1980s, by creating a thought-provoking opportunity to reconsider its positioning in today’s society.

Lovers, Revisited will premiere new portraits made in collaboration with artist Charan Singh. Gupta and Singh are both recognised for their distinctive style and approach to photography. Recently their practices came together creating exciting dialogues between their work. As an extension to the original project, Gupta and Singh have created large-scale digital colour works by using the same camera lens. They document couples today, from all over the world, as well as reshooting one of the participants from the original series.

The timing for this project goes beyond a celebration of the original series’ milestone. It is a reminder of the ongoing importance of visibility for queer communities in a time where the UK grows less safe for LGBTQIA+ people.

Alongside Lovers: Ten Years On & Lovers, Revisited, The Art House is proud to present The Promise of Beauty, the first major solo exhibition in the UK by Singh.
 

Artists