In the first ever extensive collection and exhibition of her work Alex Box gives full access to images which radically unsettle and deconstruct conventional images of beauty in fashion. Using everything from pigment to post it’s to magically transform her models Alex opens up the human form to a fantastical and expressive range of new possibilities.
The exhibition takes place at the Annroy Gallery in London NW5 from October 23rd until November 22nd 2009.
Her unconventional approach to make-up emerged from her Chelsea art school experimentations in sculpture and performance, Alex Box’s mature work uniquely merges fantasy, fashion, science and illustration. Almost anthropological in her exploration of the face, Alex liberates each image from the constraints of reality in arresting images which are colorful, humorous and sometimes disturbing.
Hosted at Annroy, Rankin’s new Kentish Town gallery space, the exhibition moves from dark Berlin cabaret to kaleidoscopic clown. Each creation is an instinctive response to the moment, the model and the mood to form a moving expression of the many faces of beauty.
Her collaboration with Rankin who shot the images for the book, and her work for designers including Gareth Pugh and Karl Lagerfeld, creates a powerful fusion of art and performance with fashion. She imaginatively investigates fashion’s many modes of representation and as such is both a critic and a confidant.
‘The minute you obliterate somebody’s spirit, you’re abusive” These images by contrast show mysterious, moving and exotic creatures, empowered by their abstraction and the endless possibilities of transformation.
Alex Box
Alex Box studied and exhibited as an installation artist exploring the relationship between body and environment. As a makeup artist she went on to explore the relationship between art science nature and the magical.
Today Alex creates out of the box looks for designers from Gareth Pugh, Karl Largerfeld and Alexander Mc Queen to Stella Mc Cartney and Chanel. Leading the field in experimental beauty she is a regular contributor to Vogue, Numero , I-D, Dazed and Confused Another Magazine and V.
Alex is also the creative director of leading cutting edge makeup brand Illamsaqua, and has been shaping and creating the brands image and product from conception.
Alex Box (Turnaround £50) will be available at bookshops from October 22.