LONDON — She's sipping tea in bed with the dogs, browsing at the supermarket, and getting an eyeful of two horses mating. Alison Jackson's series of photographs currently on view at London's Pertwee Anderson & Gold reveals Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II like you've never seen her.
Timed to coincide with the monarch's forthcoming Diamond Jubilee, the royal spoofs in this exhibition would be little more than schoolgirl Photoshop pranks if they weren't so breathtakingly credible. Captured with a finely-tuned faux paparazzi aesthetic, the impeccable cast of lookalikes induces an immediate — if short-lived — suspension of disbelief. Prince Philip at a gallery opening, peering intently at a photograph of a spread-eagle Marilyn Monroe, doesn't seem like an entirely improbable scenario, nor does the Queen kneeling on the floor at Buckingham Palace to play with her doggies. That's a royal scoop News of the World would have paid for handsomely.
Jackson has also found inspiration in last year's much-feted royal wedding — and displayed some of her pictures for the occasion. Here is the Queen again, dancing rock'n roll with Elton John at the reception, a drunken Duchess of Cornwall resting for a while on the royal throne, and Prince William leading a conga line with his bride, Cheryl Cole, Prince Harry, Lady Gaga, and David Cameron bringing up the rear. If only.
"Alison Jackson, Jubilee," May 25 – June 9, 2012, Pertwee Anderson & Gold, London.
For images from the exhibition, click on the slide show.