Exhibition: Beard, by Mr Elbank at Somerset House London

Photographer Mr Elbank started up #Project60 turning shots of beards into a way of supporting an initiative to spread the word about skin cancer. Jimmy Niggles is the man behind the charity initiative and Mr Elbank came on board with #Project60, showing at Somerset House, London until 29 March.



Paolo Schianchi says it in “L'immagine è un oggetto. Fondamenti di Visual Marketing con Storytelling” – Images are Objects. And we are all well aware that in our increasingly digital world images have the power to tell stories that then go viral.



#Project60 is an example of how images can actually become the bearers of messages that aren’t just a kind of representation: the idea of Beard, an exhibition of portraits of people with beards taken by British photographer Mr Elbank is to raise awareness of skin cancer – often not taken seriously enough, particularly by men.



He is helped in this by the fact that beards are all the rage again in 2015. After the death of a close friend from skin cancer, Australian Jimmy Niggles decided to set up a charity and support skin cancer sufferers by growing a beard as an image for the message he wants to get people thinking about. 



Photographer Mr Elbank, who was already fascinated with facial hair and had his own personal photography project on beards, joined forces with #Project60, photographing people – famous or simply bearded – who travelled to his Warkwickshire home at their own expense, in support of the campaign.



So the art, culture and creative exchange space of Somerset House is holding this exhibition – Beard, showcasing the original collection of Mr Elbanks photographs for #Project60 together with other brand new, unseen portraits shot especially by the artist for this show.
An opportunity not to be missed – you get to see Mr Elbanks’ shots and to explore Somerset House, a creative hub and all-round cultural venue right in the heart of London.

(Christiane Bürklein)

Exhibition: Beard.
from 5 to 29 March 2015
Somerset House, London UK
Find out more:
http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/beard
Photography: © Mr Elbank http://mrelbank.tumblr.com/