Tearing up Vogue and Mining the Detritus

About the exhibition

This exhibition will display a body of practice-based doctoral research in montage by Ehryn Torrell (IRPH, SSH). Montage is not a singular artistic medium like painting or drawing, but rather it is intermedium (Higgins, 1965). It often includes the act of cutting up and reassembling photographic images to say something about representation and ways of seeing.

In her practice-based research, Torrell has asked the following questions: How can montage allow an artist to deconstruct and challenge fashion media, particularly the racialised and gendered bodies in Vogue magazines? What methods of montage might be used? Does using a fashion magazine as source material risk giving voice to already dominant or normative images of women?

To find out, Torrell has selected 8 Vogue and Teen Vogue magazines produced between 1968-2017 in France, the US, and Italy as source material. Each issue has been used to create one single montage on paper. Torrell has called these 'primary montage' and they will be on display in the gallery. The used magazines will also be on display, as they contain what Torrell has called 'secondary montage.' This is a key aspect of her research, as she mines the detritus of process to find out what impact, if any, she has made on the source. 

Opening hours

• Thurs 2 May, 12-4pm with an opening reception from 2-4pm (all warmly welcome)  
• Friday 3 May, 12-4pm & 6-8pm  
• Sat 4 May, 12-4pm 
• Wed 8 May, 12-4pm
• Thurs 9 May, 12-4pm 
• Fri 10 May, 12-4pm 

The artist will be present in person to discuss the work during opening hours except for Friday 3 May, 6-8pm and Wednesday 8 May, 12-4pm.

The exhibition will open on Friday 3 May, 6-8pm as part of Loughborough Lates, an evening of arts and cultural events in venues across Loughborough.

Find out more about Loughborough Lates

About the artist

Ehryn Torrell is a practice-based PhD candidate in International Relations, Politics and History in the School (IRPH) of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University. Her research sits within the Centre for Doctoral Training in Feminism, Sexual Politics, and Visual Culture. She gratefully acknowledges support in part by funding from the CDT and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.