“. . . a multifaceted portrait.”
Picture yourself in your birthday suit. Ryan McGinley’s YEARBOOK is a record and celebration of community, documenting a vibrant crowd of creatives, musicians, and artists in New York City. Against bright candy-coloured backgrounds in fluorescent blues, pinks, and greens, McGinley’s subjects smile and laugh, nude yet completely at ease in front of the camera, occasionally blurred or caught in motion. Pushing against the conventions of staged portraiture, McGinley’s installation celebrates not just the beauty of the human form, but individuality, diversity, and strength; a multifaceted portrait made up of hundreds of people, unified and distinct.
Presented at Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) as part of PHOTO 2024, a public festival of photography across Melbourne and regional Victoria now in its third iteration, this is McGinley’s first solo exhibition in Australia. “Our mission, above all, is to present work that showcases diverse perspectives and reflects the experiences of our time to allow a deeper understanding of our world and the people in it,” notes SAM CEO Melinda Martin. “Presenting exhibitions from internationally-based artists and institutions allows our audience the opportunity to enjoy a global art experience in a regional context.”
Ryan McGinley, YEARBOOK (detail – Matty M), 2018. © the artist. Courtesy the artist and Shepparton Art Museum (SAM)
YEARBOOK was first presented in San Francisco in 2013, drawing on photographs McGinley started taking in 2009. Versions of the work are continually updated, with different modes of presentation; new faces, new bodies, and new joy are added to McGinley’s tapestry, creating an ongoing record as the work evolves. “YEARBOOK has been shown a few different ways: in Tokyo, it was presented on a single, long wall; in Denmark, it was shown in an intimate room with photographs looking down on you from the ceiling,” says exhibition manager Nick Baylart. “For Shepparton, we’re going to transform our entire 300sqm+ gallery space so that visitors are surrounded by photographs everywhere they look.” Initially inspired by advertising paste ups, YEARBOOK envelops the gallery space from floor to ceiling, wrapping the walls in rich colour and an almost overwhelming rush of images.
Ryan McGinley, YEARBOOK, installation view ‘Body Loud’ at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, 2016. © and courtesy the artist
In this kaleidoscope of bodies and faces, there are moments of stillness, recognition, and startling intimacy, rewarding the viewer. “When discussing ideas behind the creation of YEARBOOK with Ryan, what has stayed with me was the inspiration behind his making the work a constellation of people, covering every inch of the gallery’s walls,” reflects Head of Exhibitions and Collections Jessica O’Farrell. “It came from a visit he made as a teenager to the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. He described a sense of awe and overwhelming emotion – a feeling that he, as an individual, formed part of something grand and limitless.” Similarly, the subjects he photographs form a whole greater than the sum of their parts, coming together in testament to the beauty and complexity of human experience.
Loqui Paatsch is an arts writer living and working in Naarm/Melbourne.
Shepparton Art Museum
1 March to 14 July 2024
Victoria
