Widely credited with evolving the editorial genre of fashion photography into an art form, American photographer Deborah Turbeville de-emphasized the clothed figure in her pioneering compositions, whose often-decaying settings reinforce their dreamlike atmosphere.
Experimental techniques such as soft focus, the use of printing papers with varied tones and textures, distressing or tearing of the print, and the application of masking tape or other collage elements contribute to the photographs’ otherworldly aesthetic. This exhibition from The Image Centre collection presents more than 40 photographic works spanning he innovative career, from her major fashion commissions of the 1970s to the more personal projects of her later years.
