Peachy N Keen at Unveil'd

Unveil'd was a three day photography event hosted in Bristol's Edwardian Cloakrooms, featuring exhibitions, talks and a photobook/zine fair. I went particularly to see Peachy N Keen, the female duo who promote female artists through a blog and website. They now host exhibitions too and I believe this was their 3rd one so far (the others being in London and Brighton). Alongside their show was fellow photography collective 'Young Shot' and Halftone zines. Young Shot exhibited in the Gents Cloakroom and Peachy N Keen in the Ladies. 

The lovely Eleni Mettyear and Rhiannon Adams

I attended the introductory talk by Peachy N Keen, where founders Eleni Mettyear and Rhiannon Adams discussed how they came about and what the future is for their collective. For those who don't know Peachy N Keen, the collective supports and promotes the work of female artists (established and emerging) and hosts interviews and features on their various online platforms. They are looking to make a magazine in the future, which I think is a great way of having a physical interpretation of their work, although it will start out as an online publication. Not only will a magazine widen their audience, it should provide exclusive content and design that sometimes isn't achievable within the constraints of a blog or website.
It was a great show, as soon as I walked in I saw the pink glittery tinsel hanging from the entrance, paper pom poms and bold colours - I knew I was in the right place! I was then welcomed in my two girls in front of a projection screen who I instantly knew were Peachy n Keen, despite it being a little cramped (we are in a cloakroom/toilet after all!) I felt very comfortable and welcome. The images were fantastic, I have to say they made an amazing selection and curated it very well. Featuring mostly nudes, it was a brilliant display of the female form and the mix of images provided cheeky, sensual, playful and reflective interpretations. Not constrained by frames or mounting, the images worked well with the pale brick walls and old sink present in the room. The layout was similar to a gallery wall (lots of images on top of and next to each other) where there is no linear pattern, but rather a juxtaposition of images that played with each other and triggered various emotive responses. 

Not just colour photography, this black and white image of women on the beach was one of my faves

Sensual and symbolic, the red satin and ghostly pale legs - a combination of those elements usually equals some sexual connotation, but not here - this is pure female expression without the male gaze

A selection of serene nude portraits and colourful legs compliment each other on the main wall

Cheeky - in all means of the word! Loved the triptych of brightly coloured behinds on the window.

Colourful portraits

The woman in water above the sink - very appropriate, was it planned or just coincidental. Either way its brilliant!

What a fantastic show, for them to make what essentially was an old toilet into an art space that is inviting and vibrant is a great achievement that they should both be proud of. I look forward to seeing them spread their wings further in the future and hopefully I'll make it to another show. 


I leave you with a couple of other images I took at Unveil'd.

Curated by Halftone

All the zines hung up in the old toilet cubicles

It was a little dark and cramped in there but when there are zines to be looked at I don't pay much attention to the location!

Photographs by Sarah Packer

All rights reserved © 2014 Sarah Packer. Do not use without the artist’s permission.