The exhibition will include new and recent works from Demand’s series ‘The Dailies’, presented in an installation devised specially for the particular nature of the spaces at The Common Guild and involving a new wallpaper. ‘The Dailies’ is a project that calls to mind the extent to which photography has in recent times become a commonplace, daily and social pursuit – a note-taking, diary-like practice for so many. While the exhibition as a whole prompts questions about the compulsion to make images as well as the contemporary relevance and use of photography. ‘Daily Show’ is an exhibition that sits resolutely in the context of the exponential growth in online image sharing, which now sees thousands of images uploaded to social media sites every second.
Demand’s works have often been based on images in widespread circulation, whether in mainstream news media or online, what critic Hal Foster has aptly described as “our shared media memory”. They have included many significant scenes, from the Oval Office to Saddam Hussein’s last hiding place. ‘The Dailies’, however, find their origins in less historic places: for each is based on a photograph taken on Demand’s mobile phone. Each one of ‘The Dailies’ depicts an incidental, undramatic scene encountered in the course of his day, visual incidents made of the details of daily life that are in some way nonetheless eye-catching.
These works continue Demand’s established and remarkable practice of recreating images in the form of three-dimensional replicas made entirely of paper and cardboard, which exist only to be photographed before being discarded. Begun in 2008, ‘The Dailes’ are also notable for the specifics of their production: they are printed using the now rarely used dye-transfer process, which offers an unparalleled, intense colour quality and range, most famously used by the renowned American photographer, William Eggleston.
