McQueen by Anne Deniau

To see and to be seen: 'food for thought' from Alexander McQueen's last show during the 2000/01 London Fashion Week .The models were inside mirror glass boxes and they were acting as "prisoners", condemned to a sort of blindness: they can be seen but cannot see. Towards the end of the show one of the boxes revealed nudity and butterflies. Into that box there was the only model who seemed delighted with the fact that she was able to see.

McQueen's fashion shows are more than simple clothes exhibitions. They are real performances, dramatic and surprising, which can be manipulated by the designer and staff's understanding of art and accurate forms. Capturing their universe is not an easy task, but it demands a kind of sensitivity that goes beyond the simple gathering of information.

"I am ephemeral. I am a silent witness. I am a witch and a fairy (…). If I were Japanese I would be a calligraphist. If I were a piece of earth, I would be an island. And if I die - with my hands full of images - do not close my eyes but burn my body and give my ashes to the sea."

The self-analogical words of the French photographer Anne Deniau, which are in the exhibition Insensé's invitation card, point to what is to be seen in the photographs spread throughout Alexander McQueen's House in London: a staring for a deeper understanding of the designer and his creations. Deniau gives a smooth vision for aggressive images, unexpected angles, astonishing sites and portraits of the very McQueen. Sensitive and unique, the French photographer runs away from glamour, she prefers to suggest more subtle sensations.

The result is poetic, represented in sepia or black and White images. Disposed in simple forms with modest frames and dimensions, it is difficult to forget about these photographs and simply concentrate on the real and seducing winter 2000 collection's clothes. Therefore, the exhibition is worth a double browsing on McQueen's clothes rack at 47 Conduit St., on show until the 20th October. And for those who will not be around, it is still worth to keep an open eyes for Anne Deniau's photographs elsewhere.

Alexander McQueen - 47 Conduit Street - London W1 - Oxford Circus - until 20/10/00