Selfie to Self-Expression to be extended until 6th September 2017

Following the huge success of From Selfie to Self-Expression, Saatchi Gallery and Huawei are delighted to announce an extension to the popular exhibition. Having opened at the Saatchi Gallery on 31st March 2017, the show is the world’s first exhibition exploring the history of the selfie from the old masters to the present day, and celebrates the truly creative potential of a form of expression often derided for its inanity.

From Selfie to Self-Expression showcases key artworks, many of which feature interactive, digital and user-generated content, by artists as diverse as Christopher Baker, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Juno Calypso, Tracey Emin, Van Gogh, Mohau Modisakeng, Rembrandt, Cindy Sherman, Gavin Turk and Velazquez. Showing alongside examples of many influential artists’ work are selfies that have quickly become icons of the digital era – from the beautiful and sublime to the mad, bad and downright dangerous.

The show highlights the emerging role of the smartphone as an artistic medium for self-expression through the commissioning of ten exciting young British photographers to create new works using Huawei’s recently launched P10 dual lens smartphone co-engineered with Leica, as part of their artistic practice. Reprising the spirit and energy of the Young British Artist movement first launched 25 years ago; the works of these young British photographers are on display in a gallery dedicated to world-class smartphone photography. In this gallery the focus shifts from Selfie to documenting the world and those around us as a contrasting form of Self-Expression.

Huawei’s partnership with the Saatchi Gallery is a demonstration of its commitment to supporting creative expression through photography everywhere. It follows the launch last year of the game- changing Huawei P Series smartphones which reinvented smartphone photography with the world’s first dual-lens camera co-engineered with iconic camera brand Leica.

The exhibition now runs until 6th September and takes over two entire floors of the Saatchi Gallery.

Following the enormous success of the #SaatchiSelfie Competition which received over 14,000 entries from 113 different countries, and the commissioning of ten exciting young British photographers to create new works using Huawei smartphones, co-engineered with Leica, Saatchi Gallery and Huawei are joining forces again with an exciting new opportunity. The #SelfExpression Competition invites artists, photographers, creative individuals and anyone with a smartphone to turn their gaze away from the self to document the world and those around them.

The #SelfExpression competition marks Huawei’s and the Saatchi Gallery’s ongoing commitment to provide a platform for the most creative smartphone imagery to be discovered and enjoyed. The open- entry competition gives everyone over 16 the opportunity to share their most expressive images, and what they find beautiful, interesting or noteworthy, with an international audience.

The competition will be judged by artists Chris Levine, Rachel MacLean, Simon Roberts and Gillian Wearing, joined by Sunday Times Magazine Picture Editor Russ O’Connell. The judges will shortlist 10 winners from the pool of entries. The winners will have their work exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery in London and will also each receive Huawei’s newest P10 smartphone, co-engineered with Leica, which features the world’s first 8MP Leica front camera and dual Leica lens. The overall winner will be announced at a special private view at the Saatchi Gallery on 5 September 2017, and will receive a solo exhibition of their work.

Nigel Hurst, CEO, Saatchi Gallery
“We hope that this new #SelfExpression competition encourages everyone with a smartphone to realise their potential by using it as an artistic tool, and will inspire them to document their daily lives with even more range, diversity and creative vigour.“

Glory Zhang, CMO, Huawei Consumer Business Group
“The level of engagement with the #SaatchiSelfie Competition was amazing. People from all parts of the world displayed incredible levels of creativity and in many cases shared some deeply personal images. When we set the challenge we hoped the public would take an expansive view of the idea of ‘selfie’, and the photography we got back absolutely lived up to the founding ideas behind the competition and the exhibition.“