It is the final days to get your arse in gear and see this, well, arse; shot beautifully by Poppy Thorpe. The photograph is one of many in a grad-focused group show, Futureproof, established by the Photographer’s Gallery to give a platform to work by those from its TPG Develop programme, which offers a range of subsidised activities, talks and workshops to help young people aged between fourteen and twenty-four. Thorpe’s work naturally stood out; and both feeds into sexualized premillennial online image-sharing and critiques it. As you might expect from a show of younger practitioners, the themes of the work are generally those that reflect the strange and destabilizing times we live in: belonging, gender and body politics, the female gaze, urban and natural environments, cultural heritage and LGBTQ+ issues. Thorpe’s arses are presented just as they are; knicker elastic digging slightly, flesh poking out. There’s no judgement, just honest presentation of the female form.
