Franklyn Rodgers: Devotion – A Portrait of Loretta
Until 7 July 2018, Autograph, London, UK
Loretta
Photographer Franklyn Rodgers pays homage to a figure sacred in his life: his mother, Loretta.
Over several years, Rodgers photographed Loretta and the circle of friends important to her. The large-scale portraits in Devotion recognise the significance of these close-knit relationships: mother and son, and between friends. His visual care for such deeply personal subjects is evident in the exquisite and refined grandeur of these works, the result of a methodology built on intimacy and trust.
Installation view, 2018
Please note the gallery will be closed to the public on Tuesday 12 June, for an event.
Rodgers’ photographs investigate what it means to look into the human face. He drew inspiration from work of French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, who claimed that our individual obligations and morality are found in the recognition of the suffering and mortality of others. Identity becomes both a departure and return to the self.
Mrs Iris Simms
This exhibition is an act of devotion to his mother and the intimate familial moments of love, care, tenderness and affection in these relationships. Loretta and the devoted network around her are a testament to the case for greater safekeeping and care across the human condition.
Loretta – Crown
About the photographer
Since the mid 1990s, Franklyn Rodgers has established himself as an artist best known for his unique and distinctive photographic portraits – often working with large format and on traditional film.
Rodgers has exhibited internationally, including at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (2011); Southbank Centre in London (2011); National Portrait Gallery in London (2008); Royal Academy in London (2006); The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; and during Les Rencontres d’Arles in France. His work is held in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Autograph.
Mrs Loretta Rodgers
His first monograph The Philosophy of Strangers was published in October 2007 by Autograph.
Copyright photos: Franklyn Rodgers