GALLERY FIFTY ONE is pleased to announce the new group show NONAGE wherein photographical representations of children are presented. As the title already reveals this exhibition questions the visual culture of childhood and different angles of these youngsters as photographic subjects. Enhanced by the many photographers who’s work will be juxtaposed, one can tell the multi-faceted aspect of a child’s image that deals with related matters such as immaturity, sexuality, infancy, innocence, vulnerability…

Work of following artists will be on show: William Klein, Helen Levitt, Bruce Davidson, Malick Sidibé, Martin Munkasci, Helen van Meene, Elinor Carucci, Deanna Templeton, Torbjorn Rodland, Seydou Keïta, Jan Yoors, Roger Ballen, Vivian Maier, Arthur Leipzig, Norbert Ghisoland, Jacques Sonck, Masao Yamamoto and Katy Grannan.

The representation of children in art is primarily the inspiration as being a symbol of innocence, particularly in regard to sexuality and childhood being associated with purity, the “romantic ideal” initiated in the 19th C. Nowadays the visual language of children remains still an inspiring topic for many artists, often it the complexity of a child’s identity is captured. Therefore contemporary portraits are more controversial, more delicate, showing a diverse array of inner emotions.
The exhibition shows images of young individuals: living in various regions from the globe (United States, Europe, Africa, Japan, …), from all sort of socio-cultural backgrounds (bourgeoisie, working class, ..) and from a wide time range, starting from 1920s until today.

NONAGE attempts to recall fragments of the complex identity and lifestyle of youngsters throughout generations and in diverse geographical and social environments. The diverse array of snapshots, studio portraits and more intimate photographs by many different photographers gives an insight of various photographic perceptions of childhood.