Fragile Beauty - Photography students visit exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Intro
Final year BA (Hons) Photography students went with course leader Peter Bennett to see the Fragile Beauty exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum recently. The tickets were kindly paid for by the Students’ Union.
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Fragile Beauty is an exhibition showcasing the photography collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish. Running until 5 January, it presents a vast display of iconic images by some of the most renowned photographers in the world, including Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Francesca Woodman and William Eggleston.
The exhibition is organised into overarching themes such as fashion, reportage and desire. The fashion section features a range of styles, from experimental cut-outs by Harry Callahan to the stark minimalist approach of Irving Penn. The celebrity section includes poignant images of figures like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, highlighting the often-tragic side of fame.
One of the most striking aspects of the exhibition is its exploration of desire, with intimate images capturing the fragility and beauty of human connections. The collection also includes powerful news photographs that document significant historical moments.
Peter explained:
Overall, Fragile Beauty is more than just a collection of photographs; it tells a compelling story about style, celebrity, and the human condition through the lens of Sir Elton John and David Furnish's personal tastes and experiences.
All the students were in agreement that this was an amazing and memorable exhibition and something they really enjoyed.”
Photography student Dilek Yorulmaz said:
Fragile Beauty showcases the profound power of photography as an art form. Works including Nan Goldin’s raw and intimate photographs and Diane Arbus and Robert Mapplethorpe’s iconic portraits celebrate fleeting beauty and the depths of human emotion. They offer a visual feast but also a rich narrative which includes social history and personal stories. The exhibition was a powerful reminder that photography is more than an aesthetic expression—it captures the complexities of life and transforms them into a lasting, meaningful narrative.”
Another student Antoinette Castro commented:
I found this exhibition to be truly inspiring and hugely helpful for my major project. It not only allowed me to see in physical print some of the images and photographers I have admired for a long time, but it also exposed me to different concepts, approaches and even printing techniques. Each room was dedicated to different genres, like documentary photography, with some marking historic moments, to portraiture and fashion, whilst others to renowned photographers, some of whom I am in fact using as inspiration or research for my major project.”
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