Patti Smith meets Richard Gere: The Enninful x Mapplethorpe collision is curated to contrast.

The Ballarat International Foto Biennale exhibition is a powerful partnership and portrait pairing that captures the essence of New York City circa 1970s - 1980s.

New York City circa 1970 through to 1980 is a deeply romanticised period where art, music, and fashion were the foundations of a thriving creative city.

Off of the back of the prior decade’s social evolution which was underscored by artistic expression led by the likes of pop art icon Andy Warhol and the experimental, performative uprising of Yoko Ono, the 70’s saw the shifting of culture. Whilst the city was dishevelled, teetering on the verge of bankruptcy which posed disruptions to public services and the maintenance of neighbourhoods, the landscape gave way to the rise of new creative outputs across music, art, fashion, culture and community, and redefined celebrity. The scene was a melting pot of activity and people, where the underground blended with celebrity, where music, fashion and art were tethered, and where expression was infinite.

There to capture it all was renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989).

Enninful x Mapplethorpe

Ballarat International Foto Biennale Core Program

Where: Post Office Gallery, Cnr Sturt and Lydiard Street North

When: 23 August—19 October 2025

Tickets: Included in festival pass. Purchase here.

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A native to New York, born in Queens, Robert Mapplethorpe was part of the fibre of the New York foundations long before he picked up a camera. Having briefly studied graphic arts at the Pratt Institute, Mapplethorpe had an eye for visuals, putting his skills into his practice capturing the webbed culture of New York City where art, music and fashion collided. Magazines, media, nightclubs, artists, performers, models, movie stars slinked through a desolate and desperate New York, breathing life back into it. They became Mapplethorpe’s subjects, making him one of the most illustrious portraitists, documenters, art and fashion photographers, defined by an era, and distinct in his signature juxtaposing style.

It only takes a name and a title to instantly know Mapplethorpe’s work; Patti Smith, Horses. Black and white, shirt, a thin tie, an a blazer draped nonchalantly over one shoulder; effortless, cool and so New York. The cover art for the Smith’s renowned album not only followed the artist throughout her career, but her relationship with Mapplethorpe would shape her life and become subject to her music memoir Just Kids.

 

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Smith was just one of Mapplethorpe’s subjects on the celebrity front. The master photographer also worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Debbie Harry, Susan Sontag, Kathy Acker, Richard Gere, Peter Gabriel, Grace Jones, Amanda Lear, Laurie Anderson, and Iggy Pop. In his more adventurous works, Mapplethorpe captured intimate male and female nudes, and his more experimental and controversial works documented and examined the gay male BDSM subculture of the New York scene.

His distinct style played with juxtaposing ideas – black and white, light and dark, celebrity and underground, sacred and profane, ripple and form – finding the space in between to build balance. Tapping further into this artform and exploration of Mapplethorpe’s groundbreaking portfolio is Ghanaian-born British editor, Edward Enninful OBE, whom in cooperation with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, presents his singular vision of the photographer’s work as part of the distinguished Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

The exhibition sees Enninful shape the narrative of Mapplethorpe’s works through considered and careful curation. Pairing 46 of his hand-selected prints, Enninful reshapes the dialogues between the works, exposing new meanings about the subjects and New York as a key character, and enhancing Mapplethorpe’s best known photography.

“The 46 pairs is a beautiful new way to look at his work. The sequence selected by Edward Enninful builds a renewed narrative and offers a fresh perspective,” explains Vanessa Gerrans, BIFB Artistic Director.

“Not all of the works go together. There is a conscious gentle view, contrast with chaos. It shows how his work was dynamic and really captured the essence of what was happening at the time in the scene in New York. It was a time that had magic. There was a symbiotic relationship  between the subject and the city. The culture of New York is as important as the artwork themselves.”

Patti Smith’s Horses portrait will be partnered with a young Richard Gere; both images representing an innocence in a world of experience, whilst another stand out of the exhibition is Grace Jones – New York 1984, captured by Mapplethorpe before Jones performed at Paradise Garage. In the image, Jones is painted by Keith Haring and wears sculptural jewellery by David Spada. The shoot was orchestrated by Andy Warhol for Interview Magazine, who saw the potential interplay between Grace Jones’ commanding presence, Haring’s graphic motifs, and Mapplethorpe’s photographic mastery. This collaborative effort is the intersection of New York, of art, of performances, of music and of four icons.

“For me, everything has to be about storytelling. And that’s why the pairings in this exhibition are so interesting to me — it’s like the passage of time and life, where nothing is black and white,” says Enninful.

“The idea was to pair images — some that flow together, some that fight against each other. The idea of serenity and chaos, purity versus excess. It’s about shape and it’s about form and it’s about light.”

 

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These dualities make for a powerful curatorial choice that focuses on interaction and identity; the relationship between images, the interplaying identity of subject and city, and the artist and curators crossover. It all leans into the festivals overarching theme, Life Force.

“We had the festival theme of Life Force as the starting point. We knew we had fashion, photographic culture, interaction between photographer and visual culture. It was with this lens that we came across Mapplethorpe’s work. We decided to go with a show curated by Enninful as there are clear synergies between their approaches. There is an immersive reflection in Enninful’s heritage and approach and commitment to involve the community in his practice which was also telling in Mapplethorpe’s work,” says Gerrans.

Mapplethorpe’s photographs, while anchored in their time, also feel universal and will resonate with visitors to the Biennale. The acquisition of Mapplethorpe’s works and presentation by Enninful is significant for Ballarat International Foto Biennale. It’s the first time that these works have been exhibited in Australia since the 90’s.

“Whilst people have likely seen the works in pop culture or throughout history, this is a rare offering for visitors of the Biennale. It’s a rare chance to see these works in person and celebrate the evolution of photography and the grounding of time and place.”

Enninful X Mapplethorpe is just one of the exciting exhibitions on offer under the Life Force banner of Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

To find out more about the Enninful X Mapplethorpe exhibition and to discover the full Ballarat International Foto Biennale festival program, head here. To purchase tickets to the festival, head here.