Inspiring Window Graphics | UNDEREXPOSED ARTS – The Next Gen

UNDEREXPOSED ARTS, which was founded by actor Fraser James and award-winning visual artist Franklyn Rodgers, is a black led arts and cultural organization dedicated to promotion positive representation. They celebrate culturally diverse talent through many mediums such as exhibitions, films, and workshops. The mission is to empower young people to explore notions of self-identity, representation, and creative self-expression.

Back in 2008, 30 portraits of black British actors were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery. The portraits, created by award-winning visual artist Franklyn Rodgers, addressed the perceived lack of positive black role models in UK contemporary society. Alongside the portraits were inspirational words of wisdom from the featured actors, which were named Gems of Knowledge.

The Challenge

The portraits were then installed on hoardings in Peckham where they remained until 2017, in that time they were treasured by the local community and affectionately became known as The Peckham Portraits. Following a great response to the original exhibition, a new collection of UNDEREXPOSED portraits was printed on to Contra Vision Performance HD White on Black and displayed on the windows of Mountview Academy of Theatre Art.

The Solution

We recommended our innovative HD perforated window film for these installation as the portraits were highly detailed and so using a standard 40% transparency would have resulted in the fine facial details being lost. By using this film, the smaller holes allowed for every facial detail, right down to fine facial hair, to be visible.

Due to the success of to the previous portrait series, The Next Gen portraits were created using innovative photographic techniques. In this second iteration, again created by visual artist Franklyn Rodgers, the organization aims to highlight the inspirational contribution of black British creatives and cultural contributors.

Once again, the portraits were printed on Contra Vision Performance HD White on Black due to its superior image quality and ability to preserve the fine details of a print. By using Contra Vision perforated window film, the pupils of Mountview Academy will also inside have an uninterrupted view out of the building.