Catherine Opie’s fascination with photography began at the age of nine, when she acquired a camera and took several self-portraits – including at least one of her imitating a bodybuilder. But her interests went far beyond her own physique. Inspired by a book report she’d done on Lewis Hine, known for photographs of child labourers at the turn of the 20th century, she aspired to be a documentary photographer. By 14 she had set up a darkroom at home and was taking photographs of friends and schoolmates, but it wasn’t until 1991, when she was 30, that she made her name with Being and Having, a series that depicts the queer community of Los Angeles and owes as much to Hans Holbein as it does to Robert Mapplethorpe. This retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery in London includes pictures of high schoolers, sports players, political rallies – and Opie herself (5 March–31 May).
Find out more from the National Portrait Gallery’s website.
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