At Deana Lawson's latest exhibition at Gagosian, visitors are asked not to photograph the work. Stickers cover phone cameras at the entrance, shifting attention from documenting the experience to considering who controls access and representation.
The restriction echoes questions at the heart of Edge Control, Lawson's ongoing series, which began in 2023. The work explores surveillance in beauty-supply stores, where records of suspected shoplifting are sometimes displayed behind counters. Lawson has also reflected on her own role in making photographs of people accused of stealing, raising questions about the power involved in looking and recording.
By asking visitors to put their phones aside, Lawson invites them to consider how much they rely on devices to preserve and manage what they see. The exhibition connects that everyday habit to broader issues of consent, memory and authority.
As camera-equipped phones become ever more central to daily life, Lawson's approach may encourage audiences to think more carefully about when recording is appropriate--and who gets to decide.
