24th Oct 2014 6:30pm-8:30pm
Sallis Benney Theatre
Talk
Three of the photographers selected for the One Planet City project Thomas Ball, Sophie Gerrard and Murray Ballard, discuss their commissions with FotoDocument Director Nina Emett and Bioregional Co-Founding Director, Pooran Desai.
Biographies
Thomas Ball
Thomas Ball (b.1979, Saudi Arabia) is a documentary photographer from Ireland. He graduated with a first class degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College Dublin in 2002. He went on to work in the environmental industry and aerial surveying in Australia and Ireland. In 2007 he undertook an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at The London College of Communication and was awarded a distinction. Since then he has lived in London and worked freelance in the UK and abroad on self-initiated documentary projects and editorial or commercial assignments. Thomas’ photography has been published extensively, including: GEO, The Guardian, GQ, Wired, National Geographic, Independent on Sunday, The Irish Times, The New Review, Libération, Cicero Magazine, New Internationalist, Les Temps, Foto8, Hotshoe, Creative Review, and The British Journal of Photography. His work has been exhibited widely, most notably at The Whitechapel Gallery (London), Somerset House (London), Flash Forward Festival (Canada & US), Les Rencontres d’Arles (France), The Royal Photographic Society’s International Print Exhibition (UK), The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies (USA), Association of Photographer’s Gallery (London), The Hereford Photo Festival (UK), Crane Kalman Gallery (Brighton), and The Royal West of England Academy (Bristol). His first short film Electrosensitive: Outliers in a Wireless World was screened at the Reframe Documentary Film Festival in Canada in January 2014. Thomas was nominated for the Prix Pictet Photography Prize in 2010 and was a Magenta Foundation Flash Forward Winner in 2011 & 2013.
Sophie Gerrard
Sophie Gerrard is an award-winning documentary photographer from Scotland pursuing contemporary and social stories with a strong focus on environmentally sensitive themes. Born in Edinburgh in 1978, Sophie began her career as an environmental scientist graduating from Manchester University. Her creative passion for documenting environmental and social issues then led to a photography degree from Edinburgh College of Art and an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from The London College of Communication. Sophie works regularly for NGO and editorial clients including The Guardian Weekend Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine and Telegraph Saturday Magazine, The Independent on Sunday, Save The Children and Greenpeace International. A recipient of a Jerwood Photography Award, Fuji Bursary and Magenta Foundation Award, Sophie has completed commissions, assignments and personal projects in India, Mexico, Myanmar and The UK. Her work is held in a number of private and public collections. Sophie’s work has been exhibited internationally including The Jerwood Space, Flowers East Gallery and The Photographers’ Gallery in London, Streetlevel Photoworks in Glasgow, Paris Photo and a solo show in The Arbetes Museum Sweden. Sophie is a co-founder of Document Scotland, a collective of internationally acclaimed photographers dedicated to chronicling the social, cultural and economic life in Scotland. She is also a lecturer in Editorial photography at Edinburgh Napier University. She is represented by The Photographers’ Gallery in London and Eyevine.
Murray Ballard
Murray Ballard (b.1983) is a photographer born and based in Brighton, UK. He graduated from the University of Brighton in 2007 with a BA(Hons) in Photography and was selected for ‘Fresh Faced and Wild Eyed 2008’ – the annual showcase of work by the most promising recent graduates – at The Photographers’ Gallery, London. In 2011 the British Journal of Photography recognised him as one of the ‘Emerging Photographers of Note’, following his debut solo show, The Prospect of Immortality, at Impressions Gallery, Bradford. In 2012 the exhibition toured to the Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sunderland and then in 2013 to the Centro Cultural de España, Mexico City for the Transitio_mx 05 festival. His photographs have been published in many international magazines and newspapers including: GEO, GQ, Financial Times, The Guardian, IL, The Independent, Marie Claire, Wired and the photography journals: 6 Mois, 8, British Journal of Photography, Dummy, HotShoe and YVI. Murray Ballard assists Magnum photographer Mark Power.
The panel discussion will give you background information about One Planet Living directly from its founder Pooran Desai and an insight into the processes and preparation for the project from FotoDocument founder Nina Emett. The photographers will present their work and talk about how they approached the commission. The discussion will open up to a Q & A with the audience.
A FotoDocument / BPB14 Event
£5/3*
Where applicable, concessions are available for Photoworks members, senior citizens, under 16s, full-time students, the unemployed and registered disabled
*Proof of concessions and membership to be shown on the door.