In the Mist of the Bath House: Turbeville's Iconic Imagery Returns

If you worked in the rigid world of fashion photography in the 1970s, you would know that everything was orchestrated for perfection. A typical photoshoot featured impeccable models, carefully controlled lighting, and elegantly frozen poses, each serving to reinforce the idea of smooth, ideal beauty. Sometimes it takes an outsider to dispel old myths of how things ‘should’ be done. Find out more in Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage – A Dreamlike Journey at The Photographers’ Gallery

The image on left: Deborah Turbeville, Luisa, Posos, January 1991 © Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection

If you worked within this rigorous framework, you would know that each image had to be sharp, each detail a tribute to precision. This was the standard for fashion shoots in the 19070s. Strictly constructed to work a certain way only. However, an upcoming photographer Deborah Turbeville saw beyond these well-defined codes, seeking to introduce the soul where there was only technique.

What better way to explore this idea than with Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage, currently showing at The Photographers’ Gallery in London, for an immersive, captivating visual journey?

Deborah Turbeville (1932-2013) blew up the rulebook of fashion photography, turning polished, commercial shots into gritty, mysterious art.

She famously pushed boundaries with her series Bath House, New York City (1975) for Vogue, turning what could have been a straightforward fashion shoot into an unforgettable scene set in a public bathhouse, where women linger in a misty, almost surreal ambience.

Deborah Turbeville, Bathhouse, from the series “Bathhouse,”
New York, New York 1975
© Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection

That’s not all: This emblematic series is perhaps Turbeville’s most famous work. In an outdated and slightly decrepit locker room, she photographs these female models with introspective and melancholic expressions. The scenes exude a strange serenity, with women appearing lost in thought, often blurred or masked, making reality almost dreamlike.

The atmosphere is intimate, even voyeuristic, and reminiscent of old faded photographs. On the other hand, this series caused a scandal for its almost vulnerable vision and audacity. Turbeville challenged the norms of fashion photography at the time.

She was one of the few and the first women to crash the boys’ club of fashion photography, a world that was basically a man’s playground back then.

Just being an internationally acclaimed photographer was already a game-changer. Far from frozen clichés and perfect smiles, Turbeville has plunged into a more obscure, almost cinematic aesthetic.

Deborah Turbeville, Untitled, from the series “Block Island,”
Block Island, Rhode Island 1976
© Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection

Deborah Turbeville’s world is deeply shaped by her childhood in Massachusetts and her love for Europe, blending these influences into cinematic compositions that evoke a timeless, poetic atmosphere.

Besides, she chose ruined places, deserted gardens, and interiors from another time for her series, thus creating timeless atmospheres. She wasn’t afraid to dive into the shadowy side of beauty.

With elements such as tearing, manual collage and manipulation of her black and white photographs.

Deborah Turbeville, Versailles, from the series “Unseen Ver-
sailles,” Versailles, France 1980 © Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection

Her series Unseen Versailles (1981), photographed in abandoned rooms of the Palace of Versailles, is a perfect example: the decadent walls, the enveloping shadows and the solitude of the female figures immerse the observer in an ethereal vision of a world in decomposition.

Beyond the technique, Turbeville affirmed:

“I destroy the image after having created it, I obliterate it a little so that it is never entirely there.”

Deborah Turbeville

And for good reason, this approach underlines her rejection of the traditional status of fashion photography and reflects a desire to transcend the limits of representation.

For her, each photograph was more than a snapshot; it was a self-constructed vision.

Photocollage showcases a precious collection of her original vintage collages and editorial works.

Unlike most fashion photographers who stuck to stiff poses, she gave her models the freedom to move, sometimes telling them to sit back, chill out, or even turn their backs to the camera, letting the shot happen naturally; breaking away from constraints.

This informal, almost casual approach has inspired generations of photographers to capture fashion in a less rigid and more human way.

Alongside her collaborations with renowned publications like Harper’s Bazaar and The New York Times, Deborah Turbeville left a lasting legacy, transforming fashion photography into an avant-garde art form.

Thus inviting the viewer to enter a photographic world where each image is a complex artistic construction, a moment suspended between dream and reality…

In essence, this is a unique chance to view works that capture fashion from a fresh, ethereal perspective in a space dedicated to visual exploration and photographic art. Some times it takes an outsider, to break the codes that have gone before, change the strict forms and formulas and bring newness forward. Deborah Turberville did just that.

Don’t miss a universe that only Deborah Turbeville knew how to construct. The exhibition runs until February 23, 2024 at The Photographers’ Gallery, right in the heart of London. – a must-see for lovers of both fashion and art.

If you enjoyed reading In the Mist of the Bath House: Turbeville’s Iconic Imagery Returns then why not read A New Era of Ballet Here

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