Curated by Alistair O’Neil and Shelly Verthime, the show will be the largest retrospective of the photographer’s career, featuring many previously unseen images from 1955 to 1987. Verthime has spent years exploring Bourdin’s archive, advised on the V&A’s exhibition of the photographer in 2003 and produced numerous books: she remains a true authority on the subject.

Stylistically, there is no mistaking Bourdin’s work: bright colours, strange set-ups and not a product in sight, he worked to create stories, associations or emotions, barely using the actual objects he was employed to sell.

The process behind the set-ups and the storytelling ability of this master are explored throughout the show. Produced in a pre-digital age, the exhibition details how Bourdin’s photographs were planned, arranged and developed; the process was pain-staking, amounting to days of pre-planning. Highlights of the show include the complete Walking Legs series from 1979, a range of Super-8 films he made on-location, as well as sketches, Polaroids and unseen fashion films.

Provocative and often downright shocking – the portrayal of women in his work has always been a subject up for debate. Nevertheless, the result was always undeniably visually stunning and this exhibition will unveil how the imagery of Bourdin is as fresh today as ever. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On until March 2015. For more info visit: http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/guy-bourdin

(Picture credits: Guy Bourdin Estate) 

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Famed for his ‘scientific’ approach, Gursky has always claimed his interest in the ‘encyclopedia of life’, which perhaps explains why his works often feels like a window into a beehive or an ant farm. Rarely does Gursky do intimate. His observations examine the modern world on mass, the busyness of the human race… for better or worse. His past subjects have included landfills, factory lines of workers, the modern dwelling of the tower block, and swarms of ravers at a festival in Germany. His meditations on the repetitiveness of our society are both unsettling and sublime.

What this exhibition does reveal is a new subject matter for his work: pop culture. The exhibition centers around works created from appropriated images taken from Hollywood ‘superhero’ feature films. Drawing on stills from the Ironman, Spiderman and Batman, Gursky has created imagery that observes the pervasiveness of pop culture into our collective unconsciousness.

The technical skill that goes into the production of these photographs is breathtaking and dictates that only very few are produced within a year. Don’t miss this chance to see this true master up close. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On from 30th April to 6th July. For more info, visit: http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/andreas_gursky_bermondsey_2014/

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