Pariah Genius: John Deakin, The Psychobiography of a Photographer

Artists: The Estate of Francis Bacon; Anonymous Bosch; John Deakin; Jock McFadyen; Susan Stenger
Curated by Iain Sinclair. 

Curated by the great London writer Iain Sinclair, Pariah Genius: John Deakin, The Psychobiography of a Photographer presents a rare and unique opportunity to see iconic original prints by John Deakin once owned by Francis Bacon (bearing Bacon's paint and fingermarks, their use in his own artworks palpable) plus works by Anonymous Bosch, Jock McFadyen RA and Susan Stenger. The subjects of Deakin's photographs represented in the exhibition include such notable Soho figures as Francis Bacon, Muriel Belcher, George Dyer, Lucien Freud, Henrietta Moraes, Isabel Rawsthorne and Dylan Thomas.

Staged in conjunction with the launch of Sinclair’s new book Pariah Genius (2024), published by CHEERIO Publishing, the exhibition also includes original archival materials and research notebooks by Sinclair. CHEERIO Publishing has additionally arranged a series of evening events to accompany the exhibition at Swedenborg House involving Sinclair in conversation with the likes of John Christie, Francisco Garcia, Stewart Lee, Jock McFadyen, Alan Moore and John Rogers.

Exhibition organized in partnership with CHEERIO Publishing and the London Review Bookshop. With gratitude to the Estate of Francis Bacon, and to John Christie and Jeff Towns.

Contributors
Anonymous Bosch is a photographer, cinematographer and filmmaker. He is known for his work on Sea Fever (2012), By Our Selves (2015) Aisling Sheòrais Mhicdhòmhnaill (George Macdonald’s Dreams) (2015) and The Whalebone Box (2019).

John Deakin was an artist and photographer perhaps best known for his work documenting the Soho art scene of the 1950s and 60s. Deakin photographed artists including Frank Auerbach, Lucien Freud, Eduardo Palozzi and Francis Bacon, indeed some of Bacon’s most famous paintings were based on the photographs of Deakin. Deakin worked for several magazines in the 1940s and 50s, including Vogue and The Observer, but he died impoverished and largely unknown in 1972, with his work only gaining wider recognition in the decades following his death.

Jock McFadyen is an artist who lives and works in London, Edinburgh and France. In 2012 he was elected to the Royal Academy and has staged major exhibitions at places including the Imperial War Museum, London; City Art Centre, Edinburgh; and The Lowry, Salford. Jock’s work is held in 30 public collections around the UK and his publications have featured collaborations with writers including Howard Jacobson, Will Self and Iain Sinclair.

Susan Stenger is a musician and sound artist who has toured with John Cale, Nick Cave and Siouxsie Sioux (as part of The Creatures), in addition to being a co-founding member of the alt rock group Band of Susans. She has collaborated with Iain Sinclair on several films and with Alan Moore during their Aldeburgh Residency.

Curator
Iain Sinclair has lived in and written about London since 1969. A renowned poet, essayist and writer of fiction, his novels include Downriver, for which he won the James Tait Black Prize and the Encore Prize, and Dining on Stones which was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize.