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.

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

Source Magazine, 2021 (online)
Feature Shoot, 2021 (online)
Mass Isolation Australia, Photobook, 2021

Artist Talks

Birmingham Photography Festival, 2019
Hull International Photography Festival, 2019
Hull International Photography Festival, 2018