Lunchbreak Look-See

Settle down, hipsters. Portraits were a thing long before bunny ears and beauty filters had anything to do with it and a new exhibition at BMAG is a lunch break-long look at different stylistic takes on the form. Amongst the thickly textured self-portrait of Brummie-born artist David Bomberg, brooding modernism of Francis Newton Souza and some hack called Picasso, it’s the ‘Man and His Sheep’ installation (pictured) by Ana Maria Pacheco which ties the room together. Created to cajole contemplation of our relationships with animals, authority figures and our own urges, the eight limewood-sculpted figures are uncanny in their appearance. Forget the cliché of eyes following you around the room: these funny fellas catch you looking over someone’s shoulder, eye each other up unnervingly and pop up in your peripheral vision. Perfect for your Snapchat story. Thoughts on Portraiture runs 'til Nov 18. In Gallery 13, entry is free.