*Venus Etcetera (after Titian), 2021*
Screenprint in colours with silver ink, Ed. of 15
Courtesy of Fahey / Klein Gallery © Miles Aldridge

Written by Katie Grierson

Copy Edited by Hillary Mitchell

Vivid, fabulous, and striking, Miles Aldridge’s newest exhibition High-Gloss questions domestic bliss, calls on art history, and displays Aldridge’s belief that “fiction and theatricality can be more truthful than documenting reality” through his highly posed and stylized works. High-Gloss contains photos taken from 2005 to 2021, but despite the time passed between the works, the series is unified in its boldness, its acidic beauty, and the subtle unnerving feeling that Aldridge masterfully plants in each mise-en-scéne.

*Mystique #1, 2018*
Chromogenic Print
Courtesy of Fahey / Klein Gallery © Miles Aldridge

Throughout Aldridge’s oeuvre, he utilizes erotic images and sterilized suburban settings to examine the falseness of materialism and success. His sharp images and overwhelming colors work to manufacture a scene of irony: everything is too perfect, too flawless. In Venus Etcetera (after Titian), even the spilled milk is controlled, contained while in I Will Love You Tomorrow, the model doesn’t seem human, and you would mistakenly think she was a mannequin.

When first viewing High-Gloss, what struck me the most was the complexity of each image. In Venus Etcetera (after Titian), even the magnets on the fridge, hidden in the backdrop, adds meaning. A Van Gogh painting falls out of frame and the postcard reads, “Love you Love you Love you”. When viewing this series of photos, Aldridge’s presence is undeniable: each aspect of the image is purposeful, each subject posed with such specificity. The effect is the feeling of regulation and stiffness, hardness and disillusionment. The message conveyed is the fleetingness of luxury, how a lavish life is unfulfilling and a hollow promise.

Along with this, his subjects resemble pin-up girls, stereotypical representations of beauty. But their faces betray their bodies: they’re bored, angry, and unsatisfied. Aldridge has noted how film has influenced his photography, and states that his favorite cinematic moments are “closeups of a woman’s face thinking”. This inspiration is clear, the glamorous world around his models–a glittering kitchen, lime green beds, roses in bloom–crumbling as the model’s emotions leak into the frame: the crossword puzzle is scratched out, a cigarette left to smoke. Something is wrong, Aldridge tells us as he creates a world meant to be undone. His allusions to classic pieces of art subvert our expectations as well. Both Titian and Botticelli’s depictions of Venus are attributed inspiration in this series, and the two photos bearing these allusions, titled Venus Etcetera, are flippant about being the goddess of Love. The model and her surroundings are beautiful, yet seemingly restless and uninterested. Again, Aldridge’s message is clear: perfection isn’t enough.

*Tan Lines #5, 2012*
Screenprint in Colours, Ed. of 15
Courtesy of Fahey / Klein Gallery © Miles Aldridge

Aldridge creates his own dreamscape in High-Gloss, and in its fabricated world, discovers a truth not found in photographing the world around him. Aldridge’s work reminds us of the power of art–its immersive nature, its ability to grow from other art painted decades ago, how it allows us to see, learn, and understand the reality of our world by taking us out of its “perfect” vision.

High-Gloss can be viewed at the Fahey/Klein Gallery from January 27 to March 19 2022.

Photo Editor: Nikhita Samala