A WIDNES artist's photography is on display at an exhibition. The free exhibition, titled 'Too Good to Hide', showcases the work of University of Chester graduate Tony Hayes. The photographs, captured in Chester, Liverpool, and Manchester, are on display at The Rainbow Tea Rooms in Chester until the end of September.
The exhibition has been curated by Stephen Clarke, a senior lecturer in art and design at the university. The photographs were installed by fine art student Elijah Davidson and photography student Daniel Firth, with wall text by writer Hannah Harry. The title of the exhibition is taken from one of the photographs on display.
The photographs are part of a series of shop window images, all of which contain self-portraits of Mr Hayes as a reflection. The images aim to merge autobiography, family history, and social commentary. They raise questions about an 'individual's sense of identity in an age of mass consumption'.
Mr Hayes said: "The pleasure of looking at a shop display, a well-wrapped gift or a carefully-set table has never left me." Mr Hayes' work is also influenced by Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project and the self-portraits of Vivian Maier. His work poses questions such as: "Who are we? "What are we looking for? "How is our idea of self shaped by what we buy - or, more precisely, by what we are encouraged to buy? "How do art, beauty and design relate to consumption and how does commerce affect our way of seeing? "In a world where so many luxury products a.