This AOPf22 project was to encourage collaboration and connections with other female and non-binary photographers and networks. The members were invited to create work on the theme of community and all it encompasses.
Connection has never been more important. Communities are all around us enriching our lives. Having spent two years communicating digitally the group hoped to strengthen their ties and explore in-person collaborations.
We hoped that members might come together to make work, however after completing the initial stages it became clear that a greater amount of time was needed to establish in person collaborations. However, group engagement was strong, and in the meet-ups collaborative elements developed in other ways, through skill swaps, edit feedback and technical assistance. As the professional barriers begin to dissolve, we look forward to how the f22 photographers develop stronger working collaborations and projects in the future.
This body of work is a varied and diverse response to the theme, demonstrating the powerful connections that women wish to explore and express on how they experience society and see community.
#aopf22community
#embraceequity (IWD 2023 hashtag)
Isabelle Doran, CEO, The Association of Photographers
We’re immensely proud to be supporting our female and non-binary photographer members in developing their inspired approach to work together and support each other for this collaborative project. The f22 is a female-focused interest group of the Association of Photographers, from which our female and non-binary photographers network together online as a community, through a dedicated forum.
For a different approach to other AOP Projects, we handed over the reins to the f22 steering group who were keen to bring together, harness and support the talents of their fellow female and non-binary photographers to produce images that evoke a sense of community and connection as a core theme.
The results are a wonderful and sensitive visual translation of the focus they chose, showing a mixed visual tapestry of still and moving images, which in essence represents the female gaze. Additionally, it has clearly brought the female photographers involved closer together as they shared their thoughts, knowledge and experiences, which no doubt will continue to flourish going forwards, with the promise of future collaborations.
Andy Greenacre is the Photography Director of The Telegraph Magazine. A passionate supporter of women and minority photographers, he actively commissions, in particular, new and emerging women photographers in the early years of their careers.
“The standard of entries was by and large very high with an interesting range of subject matter and interpretation. I felt the project Unseen was particularly arresting in both concept and execution and was a very creative way of using sculptural form to highlight issues around disability, visible or not.”
Jennie Ricketts is a former picture editor of The Observer Magazine, where she helped launch the careers of some of today’s leading photographers. She is now an independent photography editor, curator, consultant and mentor to up-and-coming photographers.
She started the Jennie Ricketts Gallery in Brighton in 2006 and operates online representing international photographers. She is a trustee for Autograph ABP and The Martin Parr Foundation and has served on the advisory panel of PhotoIreland.
She is based in County Wicklow, Ireland.
“Capturing the concepts of community and connection can sound daunting but the entries for this AOP F22 IWD 2023 exhibition have achieved this seemingly with ease and within the spirit of the ideas, be it human or otherwise. Well done all.”
Fiona has over twenty years’ picture editing experience across a range of newspaper titles as well as being a curator, speaker on photojournalism and mentor within the photography community. She was picture editor of the Guardian for ten years before taking up the role of Head of Photography for the Guardian News and Media Group. Throughout her career she has been involved in the coverage of some of the most historic news stories of our time including the events surrounding 9/11, conflicts around the world, large-scale natural disasters, and the humanitarian crises resulting from the growing refugee numbers across the globe.
” The brief prompted such a variety of responses: some beautiful portraits and tender observations that illuminate a sense of community and humanity that we can all share in. “
“It was a privilege to be asked to be one of the curators for the F22 Community and Connection project. Championing women photographers is a necessary part of the journey to equal representation in the field of editorial photography.
I was really keen to see the various interpretations of community and connection in the projects undertaken.
Stand out features to me were the Just Stop Oil set of portraits, [Civil Disobedients, Nicola Tree]. A community bound by the urge to get the world to sit up and take notice of the devastating effects of fossil fuels on the planet, however unpopular their methods. Environmental portraits of brave young people pictured against the signature Orange of their cause with a peek into their homes. These climate warriors will find themselves on the right side of history.
Unseen [Danielle Kalinovskis] – a group of beautiful, unashamed ethereal poses which I couldn’t stop looking at.
The Wassail [Jayne Jackson] – uniting elder and young people in an English tradition that spans centuries. I loved the portraits and the costumes.
I particularly liked the portrait in the singles category of the woman volunteer making beds up for displaced people. [Pat by Felicity Crawshaw.] So often, as it should, the focus is on the displaced but it was nice to put a face on the silent army of volunteers who welcome them to their homes, churches and other community spaces.
I also liked the group of ethnic minority women who belong to a development group at Cambridge University [Portrait by Lesley Lau] and the use of the wood panelled room synonymous with these cathedrals of learning that have for so long been the bastion of wealthy, white males.”
Hit drop down buttons for extended captions and further project details.
Black Girl’s Space is a society for black women and non-binary people at Cambridge University, with the aim to provide a space where members could connect and just be; a space where individuality would be celebrated without compromise.
It was founded last summer by Zoe Olawore, Funmi Sowole and Hibaak Aden – all second year students at Cambridge. When I speak to the women about Black Girl’s Space, creating a ‘community’ and a ‘sisterhood’ was clearly important, but beyond this, the committee is also passionate about campaigning for change.
While many of them want to support black women politically, socially etc., there are limited opportunities to do so. The committee wants to provide ways for their members to campaign for change through fundraisers and other events to support active grassroots organisations.
The students sitting for this portrait are members of the Black Girl’s Space committee (pictured left to right): Zoe, Michelle, Gloria, Zia and Iqra.
‘Civil Disobedients’
I set out to document a community that has been outcast by the establishment for having incompatible values and actions. Through meeting and photographing the members, I found a community that was engaging, strong, kind and connected, supporting each other through incredibly brave actions and taking the consequences in their stride.
I chose to feature the members individually, in their environments using a rectangle of orange material to graphically link them to the wider campaign and collective action they are involved in. For the series, I asked each sitter to write a few words about what the JSO community means to them to accompany their portrait.
© Nicola Tree
Being a part of JSO means having hope again. As a young person, it’s hard not feel scared about the future we’re facing. On our current trajectory, the only future I see for myself is one of mass famine, severe droughts, wildfires, floods, and societal collapse. But JSO has given me hope that I won’t have to live through this catastrophic future. Not just by showing me how I can be a part of the solution, but through the radical love in the community. The people in JSO have become my best friends, and friends from all walks of life. These people are the most brave, beautiful and brilliant people I know.
Being 21, and a climate activist can sometimes feel alienating. Now I’m on a curfew tag, pub trips are completely out of the question. But my JSO friends call me after 7pm to make sure I don’t get lonely in the evenings. The people in JSO are more than my friends, we are a family. An ever growing, ever evolving, ever loving family.
I never imagined that I would be in this place, an activist, civil resister for the protection of all of our futures. A fifty six year old grandmother.
Stopping traffic on the M25, being sworn at and pulled off the road by angry drivers, climbing onto oil tankers and gluing myself to things leading to many and finally to sent to prison for 105 days in 2022.
I would not have been able to do all these brave and courageous acts without the community of beautiful people who have welcomed me as one of them. We are one, like water. That’s how it feels, as we engage in the campaigns of civil resistance. The community changes as we prepare, wave after wave. The ebb and flow of beautiful people.
When we are together, the love, camaraderie and kindness that I feel is so tangible that it brings me to tears. I do cry. And I am held. It is precious, this feeling, this belonging.
I moved from a tiny village and forest to Newcastle for university during lockdown in 2022, which meant that I was entering into a brand-new world with no connections or community. After a very difficult few years, I feel as though I’ve finally found my own little corner of the world, and that came to me through Just Stop Oil.
There is no way that I could have blocked roads or thrown soup at a priceless work of art if I wasn’t surrounded by the bravest and most caring people I have ever met. The past few months have been some of the emotional of my life, and I don’t regret a single moment of them because I have been privileged enough to draw my strength from the incredible community that surrounds me.
The realisation that this government has failed us, and that we are closer to climate breakdown than ever before can be entirely isolating, so having a strong and reliable support system is truly invaluable to weathering this storm and fighting for our right to a future.
Apart from trying to avert our impending doom and the collapse of society the thing that keeps me coming back to civil disobedience is the connections you make with people. After you’ve crouched in a bush with someone at 6am, or sat in the back of a police van for four hours, you make an incredibly strong bond of trust and you get to know people pretty quickly in a way that you don’t in every day life.
It’s very easy to feel isolated and disempowered by our society, I know this well from working alone as an artist and struggling in a world that doesn’t seem to value the same things as me. By joining Just Stop Oil I found the community and empowerment that has been lacking in so many areas of my every day life. Even if we don’t halt the destruction of our planet and everything that we love, at least we had a blast trying.
‘We’ll be okay’ celebrates the voices of a small community, who find meaning and structure in their daily lives by attending a weekly gentle yoga class at Marple library.
The uninviting backdrop is merely the fabric for which this community unites. It doesn’t matter whether it is a dull, grey day, nor does it matter that every week the room needs to be reassembled so that other communities can use the space. Each week at the same time and at the same place, this community comes together and connections build.
Over the course of several weeks, and after each class, the people you hear were invited to join me for a series of conversations focusing upon community and connection. With a warmth and openness you are invited into this community and presented with an opportunity to reflect upon the significance of having a regular practice that helps provide structure, purpose and inspiration for daily life.
The root of the word Yoga in Sanskrit is ‘Yuj’ meaning to unite, join, harness and to yoke.
Through yoga people are invited to connect to themselves more deeply, by becoming aware of the way they place their feet on the ground, or by noticing the feeling of breathing in, and out. This provides the backdrop for a silent form of communication, one where people are in dialogue with each other through the way they move and breathe.
These experiences provide new insight as they begin to understand more clearly ways in which they can support themselves physically and mentally away from the space. The intimacy of the film highlights individuality, environment and the importance of community spaces, whilst shining a light on meaningful interactions which are often lost in a world full of noise and drama.
At some point this community will disperse because change is inevitable, but the connection and care they have collectively experienced will always remain.
© Helen Roscoe
Using a network of churches in North London, the C4WS Homeless Project are on the front line ready to support those without a home to rebuild their lives.
Each winter a small community of guests are hosted on air beds and mattresses on the floors of churches and parish halls, mindfully placed over underfloor pipes and away from drafts. Rotating each night of the week to a new space to sleep, they are met by a humble support network of volunteers. A unique and remarkable community who unite every year to offer warmth, a home cooked meal, and a bed for their guests without homes.
As we face the current cost of living crisis, a shortage of affordable housing, and great uncertainty for refugees, this support has never been more valuable.
Made digitally in January 2023, these documentary images are of the Chettle Wassail, a midwinter celebration of the apple trees in the orchards of this tiny rural community of just 100 people in North Dorset, UK.
This unique celebration was created by village community, building on old traditions and adding new, to celebrate the nature and landscape of the beautiful valley. The images are of villagers and a handful of invited guests from the surrounding area and give a private view into a joyful and strange centuries-old tradition where the ‘Head Apple’ leads a procession to honour this most special fruit and to wake up the spring-time.
Wassailing is an old (probably medieval) tradition, asking the apple trees to bear a good harvest, offering the orchards toast and song and chasing out evil spirits. There is usually singing to the health of the trees and cries of “Wassail” meaning ‘good health’. An apple wassail is also a very good reason to meet round a fire in the doldrums of midwinter and enjoy nature.
The village created a new 21st century ceremony, drawing on old folk ritual. Four brand new songs were written, inspired by the landscape around the village, and old traditional songs were learnt. The villagers made costumes, headdresses and props inspired by the nature around them– antlers for the deer, barn owls and evergreens. The ceremonial outfit for the ‘Head Apple’, was also made collaboratively by everyone.
Chettle is a really special place. There has been settlement in the valley for 6000 years, the village dates to Norman times and it’s steeped in Wessex folklore. The images explore a collective reconnection to the land and the food it produces, through celebration, ritual, gathering and culture.
A deep interest in historical connection and how this can unite, inform and empower us, is central to my practice and underpins my current PhD feminist research into the catalytic validity of images as constructive interventions in contemporary society.
© Jayne Jackson
Procession
The ‘Head Apple’ leads a community Wassail procession through the village to the orchard to honour this most special fruit, singing to the health of the trees and crying “Wassail” meaning ‘good health’. Music and song chases out evil spirits and wakes up the spring-time.
Chettle Wassail
One of the Chettle Wassail community, in front of the village church and the bright winter sun, in a homemade costume. Standing in honour of the apple, shortly before the procession.
Chettle Wassail – drummers
Two of the younger members of the Chettle Wassail community prepare their drums for the procession. Wearing homemade costumes and headdresses, the boys begin to practice the songs the community have learned and written for the 21century version of this ancient tradition.
The ‘Head Apple’ leads a community Wassail procession through the village to the orchard to honour this most special fruit, singing to the health of the trees and crying “Wassail” meaning ‘good health’. Music and song chases out evil spirits and wakes up the spring-time.
Chettle Wassail – Annika
The Wassail ritual is a collective reconnection to the land and its produce, through music, ritual and gathering. Chettle has 6000 years of history as a valley settlement and is steeped in Wessex folklore. 15 year-old Annika, visiting the UK from Germany, was handed a deer totem and welcomed in true community spirit, with hot soup and song.
Chettle Wassail – Owl
During the orchard Wassail ceremony of song and ritual, a village holds her homemade owl totem in respect to the local nature and wildlife. Inspired by the real ‘owl tree’ in the village, many of the residents chose costume to honour the local barn owls and conservation of species
In 2018 I began making portraits of strangers I encountered on the street on my daily commutes and errands. This practice has increased my trust in people by strengthening my confidence, from which trust in anything is born. The more I do this work, the more I feel a part of – rather than apart from – the world we live in.
I spotted her from the towpath. She was dressed in a brash red hat and coat, gathering the folds around her to lock out the chill. She climbed off her boat, carefully lifting her dogs over the side to safety. Their breath steamed out like tiny dragons as they excitedly shook themselves and sniffed the air. My brain instantly made up a story about what she’d say or do in response to my question. I’ve learned to step past my hesitation, recognise this story as a fiction and ask. She agreed with a smile and requested that I photograph her with her dog.
I showed her one of the photographs, which delighted her, so I sent her a copy. Then I did something I’d thought about many times but had yet to manage. I invited her to a more formal and considered sitting. A few days later, she brought her dogs and some outfits to mine, including the one she’d worn the day we met. We drank coffee, talked and made these pictures. I asked her to write about what community and connection mean to her.
Amanda Rogers: “I’ve lived a rather nomadic life – searching for a more organic way of communicating. Since childhood, my sense of belonging and connectivity started with animals – particularly dogs. Their acceptance makes me feel a connection with the natural world. When a stranger approaches me with trust and enthusiasm, I feel like I’ve returned to a place of innocence.
The modern world seems hell-bent on destroying community – to have so much access to everything can reap some rewards but ultimately can be damaging. To get back to nature, we need a new construct. If we can expand our field of vision, we will form deeper bonds and become braver and stronger beings.”
© Gabrielle Motola
Amanda Rogers
Amanda Rogers
Amanda and Zelda
Amanda Rogers
As a disabled, queer photographer I know what it’s like to feel unseen in this world so this is a very personal project. This ongoing series aims to challenge the narrative on how disabled people are viewed, confronting the ableism that permeates our society and flipping the script on what disability ‘looks like’ by intentionally including those with invisible disabilities. Inspired by classical statues this series celebrates disabled bodies as worthy of art instead of pity. The plastic sheet acts as a double metaphor – how society doesn’t see disabled people and as a reminder that you can’t always tell if someone is disabled by looking at them.
© Danielle Kalinovskis
Lana & Laura
Inspired by classical statues, two white disabled people pose in the nude under a large plastic sheet.
Phopy
Inspired by classical statues a disabled, black, lesbian woman stands in the nude with a walking aid, draped in sheer fabric
Eko and Zeke
Inspired by classical statues two disabled, Indian women pose together, one is standing, the other is seated and both are nude and draped in sheer fabric
Laura
Inspired by classical statues a disabled woman sits cross-legged on the floor in the nude underneath a sheet of plastic
Zeke
Inspired by classical statues a disabled, queer, Indian woman reclines semi-nude on a stool, draped in sheer fabric.
Instead of focussing on people who felt they belonged I wanted to look at what it might feel like to be on the outside. Atticus stopped going to school when he was 14, now at 17 he’s trying and understand why. His experience is very much of separation.
“When I stopped going to school, I was stressed a lot of this time, I wouldn’t really do anything. I’d just sit in my room, I’m like under my covers crying. When I didn’t make it to school id like get off the bus a stop early, I couldn’t make it in, I’d be distraught. I wanted to make it to school but I don’t want all the stress that’s there. No one understood. I didn’t know what was going on. It was the loneliest time. It’s the same now, I spend a lot of time on my own. I wake up and there’s no one home. I make myself breakfast, lunch and then I don’t know. I know what will keep me safe. Keep me safe from being sad, I was sad so much. I feel like I’m so scared of being sad. I have to protect myself I want to just be like everyone else and not think so much.”
© Jenny Lewis
All At Sea – documenting the experiences of foreign fishermen working in the British fishing industry.
From the first of four trips around the UK.
Fishing still sustains many coastal fishing communities around the UK. Its romantic image, important to our island identity, harks back to a place in the past of a hard but wholesome life.
But few would realise that today, our fishing communities are actually fiercely reliant on a diverse and skilled workforce from around the world that has become critical to the industry’s survival.
With reduced earnings, running costs rising, Brexit-related problems at the borders and markets changing, the traditional crew make-ups have transformed dramatically as few young British people want to go to sea to fish.
It’s out at sea that their communities are formed. Through the collective endeavour of the hunt for fish, the reliance on one another for survival, the hauls, cooking recipes from home, sleeping in close quarters and endless hours in a small space, fishermen from Sri Lanka, Ghana, India, the Philippines and more along with their British crew mates, form bonds for life as they do the most dangerous job in the world. Networks across the UK between nationals from different countries crisscross the land and seas as they share information and support each other.
People in the UK rarely encounter these men who graft in adverse conditions far out at sea because, due to restrictive visa conditions, they’re legally not allowed to move freely around the UK, nor experience life in the communities they sustain.
For many, it is a way of earning of comparatively good wage to send home but at a price. Months away from home, they miss important life events and their communities at home, making who they work with on their boats all the more important.
The transit workers visa that many are employed on means that they’re largely unrecognised in the image of the traditional British fishing community and the consequences are that precarious visas are putting some in precarious positions without the protection they deserve.
© Eleanor Church
Himanshu
Himanshu from India, hauling scallops at dawn in Cardigan Bay. This year, he will have been on his boat for 11 months.
He really likes his skipper and is treated well. They are as a temporary family on the waves.
Steve
Steve is from Ghana. He has worked on fishing boats around the world for over 35 years. He knows all of the Ghanaian fishermen in the UK. Hauling scallops at dawn in Cardigan Bay. They haul every hour and a half, 24 hours a day
Adam
Adam has been fishing since he left school. It’s all he wanted to do. He used to work on boats crewed only with Welsh people but now he is the only crew mate other than the skipper who is Welsh. He gets on well with the other crew, enjoys eating their cooking sometimes and knows all about their families and home life, sees them as friends. They haul every hour and a half 24 hours a day.
Mark, the skipper
Mark, the skipper, has been fishing all his working life. His crew used to be all Welsh but now, apart from one fishermen, his crew come from abroad – India, Ghana, Sri Lanka. He is a good skipper and a kind man. He’s also one of the first British skippers trying to help his crew pass the difficult English language exams they need to get a Skilled Worker Visa which would entitle them to better rights, pay, access to healthcare and, importantly, allow them to access land when not at sea.
Mark, the skipper
Mark, the skipper, has been fishing all his working life. His crew used to be all Welsh but now, apart from one fishermen, his crew come from abroad – India, Ghana, Sri Lanka. He is a good skipper and a kind man. He’s also one of the first British skippers trying to help his crew pass the difficult English language exams they need to get a Skilled Worker Visa which would entitle them to better rights, pay, access to healthcare and, importantly, allow them to access land when not at sea.
I wanted to capture life at the Almhouses as part of exploring Community and Connection. It is something I would like to continue as there are many more residents to photograph and speaking with each,learning more about their life and how they arrived here has been fascinating.
Almshouses are a charitable form of self sufficient, low cost community housing that is held in trust for local people in housing need. They are managed and run by almshouse charities made up of local volunteers.
Today, 36,000 people are living full and independent lives in almshouses, finding friendships, wellbeing, safety and security inside their walls and within their communities.
© Scarlet Page
Reverend Peter
Sitting in his vestry I captured the Reverend surrounded by his books where he spends many hours each day. Peter has been the Reverend at the chapel of the Almhouses for close to 12 years.
Pauline
Having lived at the Almhouses for 17 years, Pauline cleans the chapel and maintains the flowers in the gardens, she has an allotment which blooms beautifully every summer and she encourages all to enjoy the space.
Ian (Matron) and Honey
Ian lives with his wife Sue in the Matron’s Cottage at the Almhouses. He has been the caretaker for 10 years. He has two granddaughters, for whom he made this playhouse, and Honey his dog.
Mike
Mike has lived at the Almhouses for 17 years and every day he takes care of the grounds. He has a shed where he keeps all his tools and spends much of the day with a chainsaw or axe in his hands.
Belinda
Belinda has worked in the office at the Almhouses for 30 years, she has seen many come and go and although she only works a few mornings a week has a huge part to play in the running of the charity. She has a plot reserved in the graveyard behind the chapel as her final resting place, it is a very beautiful spot.
The aim of this project was to explore the emotional bonds that exist within the sport of rugby. To delve into the relationships formed within a team striving for a common goal, victory. The club provides a welcoming space for everybody, no matter what shape or size. Building a community both on and off the pitch which reflect the wonderful sense of belonging that radiates from the club.
East London Rugby Club was formed in 1945 from a grammar school team maturing out of the education system. The club suffered a precarious history until they secured a permanent home of their own in 1982. This grass roots club is widely supported by the local community and in 2011 expanded to include a women’s section, the Vixens. Joining the men to proudly pull on the maroon and navy shirts of East London.
© Karen Yeomans
Determination
Leadership
Support
Family
Discipline
Shine offers 50 underprivileged children a weekly opportunity to take part in creative activities aimed at raising attainment and confidence. I will be curating the Shine Camera Club summer exhibition. I wanted to celebrate their powerful personalities and connections, their diversity and youthful energy. Like Shine, this image is chaotic and complicated yet unifying and strong.
SHINE = Energetic, Fun, helpful, Resilient.
© Fiona Freund
The students are proud and joyful in what they have to say about Shine:
“I like Shine because we do lots of fun things and we do lots of mindfulness things which are nice. When I come to shine I feel happy, I enjoy it.”
“I like Shine because it is creative and active and better than being at home.”
“At the first weeks of Shine I didn’t really like it but now every day I wake up I say “Yey there is Shine” because it is really fun and I can stay with new people and make them friends.”
“I like Shine because it feels like a second home and I have lots of mental and physical help. “
Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp meet every month, setting up their tents outside the main gates of the UK’s Atomic Weapons Establishment. I visited last December on the 40th anniversary of ‘Embrace The Base’, where it turned into the coldest weekend of the year as temperatures dropped to minus seven degrees.
Undeterred by freezing conditions (many of these women had experienced harsh winters at Greenham Common) and fueled by hot tea and field-kitchen food, they continued their [almost] peaceful protest highlighting the futility of nuclear weapons with workshops, talks and song. Warning that “the creation and storage of Atomic Nuclear Weapons brings with it the threat of ultimate destruction”.
© Wendy Carrig
Mama’s Milk is a natural Portrait Series of Breastfeeding Mothers from the Black Mama’s Birth Village a support group for black mothers and mothers to be.
Started in February 2023, it that aims to celebrate and empower mothers who choose to breastfeed. It came about from a conference key note speech in which Birmingham Doula Lorna Phillips highlighted the process and examples by which black mothers are often face exclusion from groups and imagery around nursing mothers. Denise spoke with Lorna about this and what imagery and stories could contribute, and the project was borne.
Through portraits and stories, this project will showcase the diverse and similar experiences and beauty of women who are nurturing their children in this intimate and powerful way. The focus will be on capturing the unique bond between mothers and their babies, highlighting the joy, and love that is at the heart of breastfeeding. The project will also serve to raise awareness and normalise the idea that breastfeeding among black mothers. The end goal is to create a body of work that will inspire and uplift mothers everywhere, show our similarities in the community of nursing mothers and contribute to the ongoing conversation about race, motherhood, and breastfeeding.
© Denise Maxwell / Lensi Photography
Arley
Arley feeding
Romana
Babies Touch
Damaani
Damaani’s comfort
Naime
Naime’s comfort
Reign
Reign feeding
Once sacred, seeds are now tinkered with, patented and ‘owned’ by corporations. In the biotechnology era ecological action can be a quiet activism, performed by seed saving, re-embodying our long lost role as a co-evolutionary partner, resisting and decentralising control and reversing separation.
Since October 2022, as Artist-in-Residence at the Seed Co-Operative, the UK’s only community owned seed suppliers, I’ve been documenting the processes of seed saving, from sowing to harvesting. Here, plants are grown (without chemicals) specifically for saving their seed.
In this image the women are midwives, entangled in the process of ‘birthing’ the seeds. Distribution will widen the evolutionary reach of the plant, enabling it to be grown in collaboration with other communities, and adapt to different environments, far from the parent plant. And in return the seeds will grow gifts to nourish the humans in those communities, who may then come together to save seed for the next generation.
The AOP f22 group was first created in the 1980s and then re-formed in 2019, due to demand and recognition that inequality within the photographic industry was not being addressed as it should.
f22 is run by a voluntary group of AOP accredited photographer members and is open to all women and non-binary members of the AOP. The AOP f22 champions their work, and provides a space for those with similar experiences, to share, learn and grow.
Through regular meet-ups, exhibitions and workshops f22 provides a dedicated platform offering the best business practice support. Together, f22 continues to explore ways in which to grow the visibility of women & non-binary commercial photographers at all levels
The Association of Photographers is a membership organisation dedicated to promoting, protecting and educating photographers of all levels – from those starting out, to experienced professionals, and everyone in between.
© The Association of Photographers Ltd
The AOP Photography Awards are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the photography world. They celebrate excellence in the creative photography and image-making industry.
This is your chance to be seen by leading commissioners and names within the photographic industry.
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