Belfast Exposed

Exhibitions

3rd Aug - 16th Sep

Belfast Exposed Presents: Portrait of Belfast

BELFAST EXPOSED PRESENTS: PORTRAIT OF BELFASTTo accompany Portrait of Humanity Vol. 5, Belfast Exposed is inviting Northe...

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3rd Aug - 16th Sep

Portrait of Humanity Vol. 5

In partnership with the British Journal of PhotographyBelfast Exposed is delighted to be hosting the British Journal of P...

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Community

21st May - 22nd May

Showing the faces of dementia with Alzheimer’s NI

Ahead of the Alzheimer’s Society Annual Conference 2019 (ASAC19), Belfast Exposed was commissioned by Alzheimer’s NI to w...

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4th May - 20th May

Coronation Generation 2023

Bringing together young people from across communities for Coronation GenerationIn April 2023, Belfast Exposed worked wit...

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Beaches

Gallery 1

2nd Nov 2000 to 23rd Nov 2000

About The Exhibition

Beaches produced in January 2000, is a series of colour studio portraits shot on location at various beaches in and around Cape Town. South Africa, now a fledging new democracy, the Group Areas Act being a thing of the past, is still socially and economically divided. Previously segregated areas, these beaches are now the place where integration naturally occurs and are a powerful reflection of the changing face of the new South Africa.

The project focuses on the incredible cultural spectrum that exists within these areas. The emphasis is on the artificial element, the fact that the image is a construction, a representation. A portable studio, using a mixture of sunlight and flash, creates a neutral space. The true context of the subjects is not to be found in the surroundings but in themselves. Shot against a black background, everyone from gangsters in the informal settlement of Vrygrond (situated on the beach), to the wealthy on Clifton 4th Beach were highlighted. Isolated from environment, people pictured as product, through subtle labelling reveal an informing, visceral and open portrait of a new South African community.

The Artists

Trevor Appleson