It’s difficult to decide if Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s photographs fall into the category of documentary or portraiture, and in fact they straddle both. The American’s images are elaborately staged versions of real life, painstakingly constructed and carefully lit to give the feeling of an augmented truth.

Photographs 1975 – 2012 is a retrospective taking in six of diCorcia’s important collections he has produced along the way. In Hustlers produced between 1990 and ’92, the male prostitutes of Los Angeles take centre stage, paid their usual working rate to star in the film-like shots. The sex industry was again an area of exploration for the artist in 2004’s Lucky 13, although the pole dancers in this series were portrayed not as objects of lust but as sculptural forms. A Storybook Life employs a cast of characters from diCorcia’s own life to deliver his narratives, and all 76 photographs from the series, built up between 1975 and 1999, are included in this exhibition. The venue is Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and the show continues until 1 June.

@HepworthGallery

Philip-Lorca diCorcia
‘Chris, 28 years old, Los Angeles, California, $30’, 1990-92.
Courtesy the artist,
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London and
David Zwirner, New York/London

Philip-Lorca diCorcia,
‘DeBruce’, 1999.
Courtesy the artist,
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London and
David Zwirner, New York/London

Artist Philip-Lorca diCorcia
Philip-Lorca diCorcia: Photographs 1975 – 2012
at The Hepworth Wakefield 2014.
Photo: Bob Collier.
Image courtesy the artist and
The Hepworth Wakefield.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia,
‘Roy, “in his twenties”, Los Angeles, California, $30’, 1990–92.
Courtesy the artist,
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London and
David Zwirner, New York/London

Philip-Lorca diCorcia,
‘Hartford’, 1979.
Courtesy the artist,
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London and
David Zwirner, New York/London

Philip-Lorca diCorcia,
‘New York City (Bruce and Ronnie, 1982)’, 1983.
Courtesy the artist,
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London and
David Zwirner, New York/London

Philip-Lorca diCorcia: Photographs 1975 – 2012
installation view at
The Hepworth Wakefield 2014.
Photo: Bob Collier.
Image courtesy the artist
and The Hepworth Wakefield.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia,
‘Lynn and Shirley’, 2008.
Courtesy the artist,
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London and
David Zwirner, New York/London.