Face Off by David Sims
Last month the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London opened its latest exhibition 'The Face Magazine: Culture Shift', a vibrant celebration of two decades of the ground-breaking magazine.
From 1980 to 2004, The Face was a defining force in contemporary culture. Its pages featured musicians who went on to global success and introduced models who became iconic figures of their era. The magazine also played a key role in launching the careers of leading photographers and fashion stylists, offering them the creative freedom to revolutionise fashion and music photography, and capture the spirit of the times. Relaunched in 2019, The Face continues to be a bold and innovative platform, championing emerging talent in photography, fashion, music, and graphic design while pushing creative boundaries
This exhibition features the work of over 80 photographers, including Sheila Rock, Jill Furmanovsky, Jake Chessum and Brian Aris, across 200 photographs and celebrates the fashion images and portraits that came to represent the iconic style magazine.
Below are a few of our favourite limited edition prints included in the exhibition (also available to buy on Rockarchive!).
John Lydon by Sheila Rock, November 1980
This classic shot of John Lydon by Sheila Rock graced the cover of the December edition of The Face Magazine in 1980. Sheila Rock recalls, "John Lydon could be difficult but he had great style and was very photogenic. The image I took of him in a tartan suit for the November 1980 cover looks like it's been starred by you L'Uomo Vogue but it's just what he was wearing that day."
George Michael by Brian Aris, November 1987
This photograph of George Michael was taken by Brian Aris for a feature in the November 1987 edition of The Face Magazine.
Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Senior Curator at NPG commented in the exhibition's catalogue, "Location shoots dominated in the first year but from 1981 studios increasingly came to be the setting choice for portraits new territory for many of the young photographers the studios fostered a spirit of unbound creativity. Shoots were put together on a shoe string which necessitated creative ingenuity."
Adam Ant by Jill Furmanovsky, February 1981
This photograph of a bare-faced Adam Ant holding a single red rose was taken by JillFurmanovsky during a photo shoot for The Face magazine in 1981. The image was used on the cover of the April edition of the magazine.
Jill Furmanovsky recalls, "We hadn't had anything like Neville Brodie's beautiful layouts in the music press before. Previously we were known a snappers, we'd come along for a few minutes at the end of a journalist's interview. But in The Face our work was credited. Combined with what Neville was doing with the spreads, it elevated our status in line with fashion photographers".
Normski by Jake Chessum, December 1992
Skunk Ananise by Jake Chessum, February 1995
Aaliyah by Jake Chessum, November 1994
Jake Chessum has several of his photographs featured in the exhibition including these shots of Normski, Skunk Anansie and Aaliyah. The above shot of Aaliyah was taken in London in 1994. This image was used for the November issue of The Face Magazine.
Jake recalls, "Up until this point, most of my shoots with celebrities have been pretty low-key. There may have been a publicist as well as a hair and make-up but often it was just me my assistant and the subject. This shoot was my first experience with an entourage, friends managers, hair, and make-up stylist and two bodyguards. I asked the guys if they would be willing to pose and they didn't need much persuading."
Madness by Jill Furmanovsky, shot in New York in 1980
Madness photographed by Jill Furmanovsky in New York in 1980.
Jill recalls, "There was a cultural difference between Madness and America. I remember the baffled faces of the welcoming committee at Warner Brothers Records when the band exploded out of the elevator, fell as one to their knees, and began ’worshiping’ the company logo woven into the carpet. This shoot was for Issue No.1 of a new magazine that developed cult status, The Face."
Above is just a small selection of the wonderful images included in the exhibition, but a visit to NPG is essential to get a full, vibrant appreciation of the magazine and its important, and continuing role in and influence on British youth culture.
As Matthew Whitehouse, The Faces's current editor-in-chief says, "I suppose one thing we have going for us is that The Face was always about being young and alive right now. And since our re-launch in 2019, after a 15 year gap, we've tried to capture that as much as possible looking less at the past (or even to be honest the future) and more at what's going on at precisely this moment. Facing outwards not inwards. Reflecting the world and the people living in it.
The Face Magazine: Culture Shift is on at the National Portrait Gallery until 18 May 2025.
