Brutalist Imaginaries: Radical Architectures of Oxford and Paris, (January-April, 2026)

This exhibition of over 100 individual pieces brought together Photolanguage imagery of the late modernist architecture of Oxford and Paris. The exhibition was commissioned as part of the 80th anniversary of the Maison Française d’Oxford and was installed across the Maison’s foyer and library spaces, using the site’s original, 1960s display systems and furniture. The installation in the main foyer included a sequence of 11 A0 black-and-white building comparisons, juxtaposing buildings from the two cities; small colour prints; and experimental stereoscopic prints with digitally applied colour. We also used the Maison’s two glass display cabinets to present a collection of books and book interventions relating to the period; and a collection of invented postcards highlighting the role of women architects in the period. Our installation in the library included a sequence of prints relating to the site of the disembarkation of the remains of Napoleon at Courbevoie, associating our documentation of the area and the housing estate of Les Damiers with the death mask of Napoleon, which is kept on permanent display in the library.

Supported by: Maison Française d’Oxford, The Bartlett School of Architecture and Blue Crow Media