BEX DAY
What’s normal?
12 July 2017
British photographer Bex Day’s delightfully candid and colourful images might remind you of the weird and wonderful characters and settings that appear in the work of Diane Arbus, Martin Parr or Harmony Korine. Yet here there is less of an aftertaste of social critique or the voyeuristic snapshot, and rather a contemporary and confident celebration of diversity, gender fluidity and freedom of choice.
Day’s work has the ability to tell a complete story, a factor aided by carefully selected backgrounds, characters, lighting and positioning. Nothing is random. There is much to be discovered, and the viewer is allowed, even encouraged, to relish a long, sustained look at what’s going on, and who’s making it happen. This gaze can be confrontational, controversial even – but in Day’s work it is also an invitation, not only from the photographer but also those being photographed. And Day exploits this opportunity, with hyper-detailed, sharp and striking views of alternative and utterly legitimate forms of normality.