About
I grew up in Essex, England, went to art school, and initially made my living as an editorial photographer. Fifteen years ago, I started making my own work; long form portrait series, that are rooted in a intimate relationship with my community. I am interested in themes of transition, loss and reconnection, disrupting and assembling the language and constraints of photography. My practice is rooted in photography expanding into print, collage and installation.
My projects One Day Young, Hackney Studios and One Hundred Years have been published by Hoxton Mini Press as three monographs. Exhibited in the UK and internationally, One Day Young is an award-winning project that celebrates women as they transition into motherhood; 150 women captured in their own homes within the first 24 hours of having a baby. The environmental portraiture project Hackney Studios is an exploration of a creative network. Each artist I photographed nominated the next, leading me on an authentic journey unearthing an artistic network than ran through the community. One Hundred Years is a collection of stories from Hackney residents at every age – from birth to 100 – navigating themes of aging, connection and identity.
My latest work, UnBecoming, navigates and confronts challenging aspects of selfhood, subverting the more traditional genre of portraiture. It is an intimate untangling of my experience living with a chronic illness and the unknown territory of menopause. For me, holding space for the transition into midlife is political. These themes are often taboo – both in the art world and wider cultural consciousness. In centring them, I aim to dissect the tension and seek liberation. Work from this series are part of the National Portrait Gallery Collection, Wellcome Collection and Walker Art Collection.
Syndication
-
- Getty Contour
- Matthew.Somorjay@gettyimages.com
Talks & Workshops
National Portrait Gallery / The Photographers Gallery / Barbican / RPS / UK Universities
Interviews & Podcasts
Selected Exhibitions
- 2026 Gender Stories The Walker Gallery Liverpool UK
- 2025 A Mind of Ones Own Photo Oxford UK
- 2025 Women in Art Prize : Eve Arnold Award UK
- 2025 Seeing Each Other Pallant House UK
- 2024 Illumination/ Interstial Bristol LondonUK
- 2023 Taylor Wessing London UK
- 2022 Photo Festival Melbourne Australia
- 2021 / 2019 Taylor Wessing London UK
- 2021/2020 /2019 IPE Award RPS Bristol UK
- 2020 Open Walls Arles Galerie Huit Arles France
- 2019 Kinship Open Eye Gallery Liverpool UK
- 2018/2019 209 Women Open Eye Gallery Liverpool UK
Collections
- National Portrait Gallery_ London
- Walker Gallery_ Liverpool
- Wellcome Collection_ London
- Pallant House Collection_ Chichester
- Birth Rites Collection_Kent
- Parliament Art Collection_ London