Grace Jones Exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary Explores Her Body as Living Artwork

Nottingham Contemporary presents 'Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio,' an exhibition examining how Grace Jones transformed her body into a living artwork through strategic self-reinvention. The show features iconic images including Anthony Barboza's 1971 portrait and Hans Feurer's 1974 Vogue Hommes cover, alongside collaborations with artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Paul Goude. Jones appears with Haring's signature white lines painted on her naked body and in Goude's photographs that exaggerate her limbs. Works by Richard Bernstein for her Sigma Sound Studios albums and fashion illustrations by Antonio Lopez demonstrate her continual image evolution. The exhibition includes film clips showing Jones directing photoshoots and discussing her public persona, revealing her maintained control. Displayed dresses by Azzedine Alaïa and a soundtrack of her complete discography create a sensory environment with electric-blue spotlights and unfinished walls. Organized into eleven chapters covering aspects like 'Interviews' and 'Grace & The Machine,' the exhibition analyzes Jones's navigation of race, gender, and identity. It confronts Western obsessions with racial difference and the exoticization of African figures through her hyper-sexualized, 'ultrablack' canvas. The show runs until January 3, offering a complex investigation into Jones's multidimensional character and enduring influence across art, fashion, and popular culture.