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ABOUT CLAIRE FRENCH

BIOGRAPHY

Claire French is a British artist based in Manchester and recently completed her MfA in photography, at the Belfast School of Art, University of Ulster. 

 

Initially studying English Literature at university, she went on to find her true creative passion in photography, whilst taking her enthusiasm for stories and narratives with her. She has also spent some time studying psychology, fuelling her fascination in people and how they think, interact, connect and navigate their way through life.  

Her practice often begins in a deeply personal space, fluidly and experimentally, often drawing inspiration from literature and poetry. Her work is often reflexive in its first instance, telling intimate stories whilst drawing on their universality and a shared collective memory. With a focus more on emotion, on both sides of the camera, rather than technicality French uses her work to connect the strands between past, present and future.

French’s work is concerned with personal histories and stories as a way of making sense of the world – hers and the wider world. Her practice focuses on a variety of photographic approaches including working with re-photography and archival images.

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Image by Sarah Sadler

CV

Academic

  • MfA Photography with Distinction, University of Ulster, Awarded 2021.

 

Exhibitions & Awards

  • Oikos - ‘Your Body Belongs to You’ at Festival Pil'ours, Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, France, 2022

  • There’s No Place Like Home, Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Sydney, Mass Isolation Australia, August-October 2021

  • Oikos, ‘A Lightness of Touch’ at Belfast Exposed Gallery, Belfast, June-July 2021

  • There’s No Place Like Home, FORMAT 21 Festival, Derby UK, June 2021

  • There’s No Place Like Home, FORMAT21 #massisolationFORMAT online exhibition, June 2021

  • There’s No Place Like Home, Auckland Festival: @massisolationFORMAT, online, June 2020

  • There’s No Place Like Home, Ballarat Foto #massisolationFORMAT online exhibition, June 2020

  • Self Portrait Photographer of the Year, British Photography Awards, 2019

  • Internal Voices, Hull International Photography Festival, 2019

  • Home Farm, ‘Home’ Hull International Photography Festival, 2019

  • Internal Voices - ‘Because She Can’ at Festival Pil'ours, Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, France, 2019

 

Publications

 

Artist Talks

  • Birmingham Photography Festival, 2019

  • Hull International Photography Festival, 2019

  • Hull International Photography Festival, 2018

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