Guy Bourdin's 'Walking Legs' go on show at Michael Hoppen Gallery

Installation view of 'Walking Legs' by Guy Bourdin
Installation view of 'Walking Legs' by Guy Bourdin, unveiled today at Michael Hoppen Gallery in London and coinciding with the late French photographer's major retrospective at Somerset House.
(Image credit: Jessica Klingelfuss)

For devotees of Guy Bourdin, there’s been much to rediscover - and uncover - about the late French photographer since his largest retrospective to date opened at Somerset House in London. Bourdin buffs can now stroll south to Chelsea gallery Michael Hoppen Contemporary, where his Walking Legs series (alongside a number of original Polaroids) will enjoy a separate selling run until the end of March.

Commissioned by French shoe designer Charles Jourdan - a long-time creative collaborator of Bourdin’s - the startling series comprises an array of disembodied mannequin legs set against quintessentially British backdrops. Shapely gams head for shelter under a David Mellor-designed bus stop in one instance, while glossy calves take a Hitchcockian turn down a dark alley and English roses bloom in full around another pair. The ‘portraits’ cast British archetypes in a sinister, new light.

Part advertising campaign, part travelogue, the images were captured during the late summer of 1979 when Bourdin, armed with a trunk of Charles Jourdan shoes and accompanied by his son, hit the road in a black Cadillac travelling from London to Brighton. Until now, the series had never been publicly seen in its entirety, with only a small sample of images originally published.

Bourdin’s approach to image making was revolutionary for the time. His work defied commercial conventions in favour of artistic ones, placing greater importance on the complex and intricate narratives woven around the products rather than the products themselves.

To that end, Walking Legs is his unique visual language at its purest and wittiest - hallmarked by uncanny compositions (Bourdin was a protégé of the Surrealist Man Ray), intense colour palettes, mysteriously absent models and an intoxicating quality of eroticism. Not to be missed, Bourdin’s plastic pins are foot fetishism at its chicest.

disembodied mannequin legs


(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

Commissioned by French shoe designer Charles Jourdan, the startling series comprises an array of disembodied mannequin legs set against quintessentially British backdrops.

David Mellor-designed bus stop

Shapely gams head for shelter under a David Mellor-designed bus stop in one instance...

(Image credit: press)

Michael Hoppen Gallery

...while English roses bloom in full around another pair of glossy calves in stilettos.

(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

black Cadillac travelling


(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

Part advertising campaign, part travelogue, the images were captured during the late summer of 1979 when Bourdin, armed with a trunk of Charles Jourdan shoes, hit the road in a black Cadillac travelling from London to Brighton. 

Picture Frames on white wall

Until now, the series had never been publicly seen in its entirety, with only a small sample of images originally published. 

(Image credit: © Michael Hoppen Gallery)

 Hitchcockian alley

A mysteriously absent 'model' takes a turn down a sinister, Hitchcockian alley. 

(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

cast British archetypes

The ‘portraits’ cast British archetypes in a new light.

(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

Bourdin's 'Walking Legs' series

Bourdin's 'Walking Legs' series is being shown alongside a selection of vintage Polaroids. Pictured is 'Untitled (Shoes and Car).

(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

Row of Legs

'Untitled (Row of Legs), c1970s. Polaroids were a part of the photographer's meticulous work process to achieve the perfect frame. 

(Image credit: © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

Legs by Draws

'Untitled (Legs by Draws)'

(Image credit: . © Guy Bourdin Estate. Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery)

ADDRESS

Michael Hoppen Gallery
3 Jubilee Place
London SW3 3TD

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