Artists
Tami Aftab
Serena Brown
Hayleigh Longman
Phoebe Somerfield
Ellen Stewart
Poppy Thorpe

A celebration of London’s emerging women photographers, Women on Women was born as an artistic reaction to the gender disparity encountered by the participating image-makers while venturing into the photography industry after graduating from different art schools. The group show seeks to champion the plethora of underrepresented perspectives and talents embodied by London’s eclectic, female photography community.

Rather than simply raising awareness of the discrimination still endured by female photographers in and outside the UK, Women on Women zooms in on the diversity of approaches, styles, tropes, and biographies converging into the offering of this new exhibition. What becomes of this multi-layered investigation into the notions of nature, girlhood, the body, sexuality, and intimacy among other themes is a kaleidoscope of visions that prompts viewers to stare at the world through the eyes of the exhibiting artists. Launching with a private view at AMP Gallery, London, on July 27, and open through July 29, the showcase brings together works by Tami Aftab, Serena Brown, Hayleigh Longman, Phoebe Somerfield, Ellen Stewart, and Poppy Thorpe: six women image-makers whose deeply subjective conception of the photographic medium stands as an ode to the multifacetedness of womanhood and the feminine universe.

Here, photographer Tami Aftab engages in a symbolic exchange with visual artist Jessy Boon Cowler, where the hand-painted runes crafted by the latter as physical reminiscences of her childhood become a metaphor for home when delicately placed on the former’s nude body. Blending fashion and social documentary portrait-based photography, Serena Brown tells the unexpectedly intertwined story of Lottie and Lottie – two best friends who share much more than just a name – as they navigate the rollercoaster journey that is their coming-of-age.

Elsewhere, Hayleigh Longman is joined by Lucy Trenchard and Hana Al-Sayed on a sun-drenched collaboration exploring the value of generosity, connection and “feminine chaos” through a bucolic pairing of images inspired by an anachronistic, refreshing love of nature. Searching for the perfect antidote for when things get out of hand, Phoebe Somerfield visualises how women can find solace in moments of crisis by focusing on the joy which lies in the little things and the mystical power of “astrology, luck and chance”. Finally, the action of gazing and being gazed at is brought centre stage in Ellen Stewart and Poppy Thorpe’s respective works: if Stewart’s monochromatic, humorous snapshots unveil the sexually charged dynamics re-directing the male gaze, Thorpe portrays the female form stripped bare of both clothes and preconceptions in a raw, beautiful love letter to women.

Opening hours
12-5pm
28-29 July 2023