I’m not sure exactly why Dido Haas selected the title Interim for the title of her exhibition at The Annex of her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, which opened on Monday, September 7, 2026. Perhaps it is because she has had to fill a sudden gap in the gallery’s calendar; I’ve no idea.
The one thing I do have an idea on, is that the title drastic undersells what is a richly engaging exhibition of personal – and slightly NSFW given the nature of some of the images – exhibition I cannot help but feel should have been called Intimacy.
I say this because each piece – most featuring Dido herself as the model – is a study in intimacy, both personal and shared. Further, all are presented in monochrome verging on chiaroscuro, giving them a depth which reaches beyond a level of engagement that might be achieved using colour, heightening their personal nature.
The personal element comes in the framing of the majority of the pieces, which feature solo images of a naked, or near naked Dido. They present a woman at ease with her one body; someone who has an intimate relationship with herself.
By intimate, I do not mean sexual; I’m using the term in its broader, personal and special meaning. These are studies of a woman entirely at ease, so to speak with her body, her skin – her very appearance. It is not prideful or driven by hubris or sense of self beauty / worth, it simply is.
At the same time, the use of long, black gloves does tip the balance of intimacy a little. There has long been something of a sexual suggestiveness in the wearing of long, opera-style gloves, one that can run over into the realm of fetishism.
Thus, through their use in several of the images here, Dido is more overtly encouraging observers to share in the intimacy of her nakedness; the placement of her hands on her body becomes more overt in the suggestion of sexuality, making it possible for the observer images their hands are the black on the white of her naked flesh in a personal – although not necessarily sexual – moment of joint intimacy.
This idea shared intimacy is further offered through three of the pieces featuring a partner in poses which – again – are by no means sexual. But which suggest very personal shared moments together. Again, perfectly framed, these three set the observer as both a passing voyeur of these moments and as the possible partner.
The result is a beautiful, engaging collection of images carrying a finely layered richness of interpretation which reaches far beyond the exhibition’s title to captivate the observer.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 