I’m showing work from my new project Ghosts in the Field in a group exhibition - A Place in Change - at Phoenix Art Space as part of Brighton Photo Fringe. My fellow exhibitors: Ashutosh Shaktan, Hannah Morgan, Immy Poole, Lauren Kaigg and Sam Laughlin are all class of ‘24 University of the West of England MA Photography graduates.
The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 5 October and runs until Sunday 17 November. The preview is on Friday 4 October - from 6-8pm - and we'll be doing a Talk about our work on Sunday 6 October - please join us if you can.
September 27, 2024
I’m excited to announce that I’m showing some work from Ghosts in the Field in a group exhibition at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol, along with my peers: Ashutosh Shaktan, Georgina Preston, Hannah Mary Morgan, Haydn Ward Streeter, Lauren Kaigg, Megan Kitts, Sam Laughlin and Shelby Mansell - all class of ‘24 University of the West of England MA Photography graduates - opening this Friday 12 July - Private View 6-9pm.
The world is in constant flux, and this exhibition delves into the visual narratives born from these changes. A place in change peers into the transformative forces reshaping the spaces we call home. This exhibition captures the elusive and often tumultuous journey of places, people and cultures caught in the throes of change. It invites you to reflect on the places you inhabit, the different identities you take. This exhibition is a call to engage with the evolving narratives of our environments, fostering a sense of connection and responsibility toward the places we hold dear.
July 9, 2024
I'm delighted to have two photographs from Ghosts in the Field in this year's Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. It was a real pleasure to attend Varnishing Day and meet Hurvin Anderson who selected my work and curated Gallery 5. The Summer Exhibition opens on the 18th June and runs until 18th August.
June 13, 2024
A selection of work from The Prospect of Immortality is included in a group exhibition - The New Immortals - at the University of Sussex.
I'll be taking part in the symposium on Saturday 27 April. The event is free, but booking is essential.
April 15, 2024
I’m delighted this photograph from my new project - Ghosts in the Field - is shortlisted for this year’s Palm* Photo Prize. It will be exhibited alongside all the other shortlisted photos in Amsterdam from the 25th May at Melkweg Expo.
You can see the full shortlist on the Palm* Studios website - there’s so many brilliant pictures, it’s well worth checking out.
Poster designed by Jamie Allan Shaw
March 3, 2024
I’m thrilled to be a Finalist in this year’s LensCulture Art Photography Awards with my project Ghosts in the Field - an exploration of life in rural Salento.
Sophie Wright interviewed me for an extensive feature you can see/read here.
February 9, 2024
Have a Butchers, in association with Hempstead May, have launched a Charity Print Sale with proceeds being donated to UNICEF’s Urgent Appeal to protect the Children In Gaza.
All prints are 10 x 8 inches, sold at £50 and made on Hahnamühle Lustre Paper with £5 of costs going towards production.
A photograph from my project Ghosts in the Field is available to purchase along with loads of prints by other photographers.
November 14, 2023
The newly redeveloped Royal Sussex County Hospital is now officially open. Here are some installation views of my work, Lureland, commissioned as part of the Connect, public art program.
The main motivation behind my application to be part of this public art program was that it came at a time when, for the first time in my life, I was spending a lot of time in hospitals, whilst my mum was undergoing treatment for leukaemia, and I realised first-hand how much art could improve the experience of being in the hospital environment. Research has shown that art significantly improves patient experience and recovery. It also makes the hospital a more pleasant environment for staff and visitors. So it’s a real honour to be part of this epic public art program for the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
You can see more photographs from Lureland here and read more about the work here.
Photos by Matt Livey
June 29, 2023
CIVILIZATION: The Way We Live Now opens today at the Saatchi Gallery, London, an exhibition showcasing the visual threads of humanity’s ever-changing, extraordinarily complex life across the globe. I have a picture from The Prospect of Immortality in the show. The exhibition runs until the 17 September 2023.
Photo: Patient Care Bay (Bigfoot dewar being filled with liquid nitrogen), Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona. October 2006
June 2, 2023
I'm excited to say that after the past 5 or 6 years being focused on commercial work, I'm putting the emphasis back on my personal work and I've started the Masters in Photography at the University of the West of England with Aaron Schuman, Shawn Sobers and Amak Mahmoodian.
October 24, 2022
I shot some stills for two new music videos for the pianist and composer Lambert - you can watch the first 'Time Out' now, the other will be out soon. Big thanks to Director Tom Oxenham for getting me on board. The stills are popping up all over the place, but you can see a selection here.
June 1, 2022
The Rural Gaze, a new book published by GRAIN Projects, is out now. Featuring my project, Around the Stump, made in Boston, Lincolnshire, alongside work by ten other photographers commissioned by GRAIN to make work in the rural midlands in 2020. More info here.
January 25, 2022
I'm delighted to have 'The Prospect of Immortality' featured in Henry Carroll's new book, 'HUMANS: Photographs That Make You Think'.
October 26, 2021
I will be presenting my work at The Rural Gaze, Symposium on the 21st May.
The Rural Gaze will consider, explore, debate and review how photographers and photography practice develops and responds to the rural. The other artists and photographers presenting are: Alannah Cooper, Emily Graham, Guy Martin, Leah Gordon, Marco Kesseler, Matthew Broadhead, Navi Kaur, Oliver Udy and Colin Robins, Polly Braden and Sam Laughlin. We will be joined by academics and writers Camilla Brown and Mark Durden to facilitate the symposium.
It's an online only event. More info and tickets available here.
Photo: Ioana, holding a tray of calabrese (broccoli), Freiston, Lincolnshire, 18 March 2021
May 14, 2021
Author Jake Tyler for The Telegraph Magazine. It was a real pleasure to meet Jake and hear about his new book 'A Walk from the Wild Edge' - the remarkable true story of one man's escape from the depths of depression through his 3000 mile walk across the country. Big thank you to Rebecca Harrison and Andy Greenacre for the assignment.
March 13, 2021
There's a feature on Lureland, the work I've made for the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in the latest issue of Photoworks online magazine Photography+. The issue explores photography in relation to care. The images are accompanied by a short text written by curator Julia Bunnemann. There are also features on the other artists commissioned for the 3Ts hospital redevelopment public art programme: Zoe Childerley, Celine Marchbank and Helen Sear.
December 19, 2020
Photoworks have produced a short film about the work I'm making for the Royal Sussex County Hospital. You can watch it here.
June 30, 2020
I’m excited to announce I’ve been commissioned by GRAIN, alongside 9 other photographers, to make new work in the rural midlands. I will be continuing the work I started in Boston, Lincolnshire, in the wake of the EU referendum. The project will culminate in a new publication and symposium which will be a platform for sharing work as well as having a dialogue and debating the issues and concerns that have been raised through the production of the work. I’m in great company, the other commissioned photographers are: Alannah Cooper, Emily Graham, Guy Martin, Leah Gordon, Matthew Broadhead, Navi Kaur, Oliver Udy & Colin Robins, Polly Braden and Sam Laughlin. More info here.
Photo: Near Swineshead, road to Boston, April 2017
February 11, 2020
Civilisation: The Way We Live Now opens at the National Gallery of Victoria from 13 September to 2 February 2020. It’s a real honour to be showing a picture from The Prospect of Immortality alongside work by so many photographers I admire: Simon Norfolk, Massimo Vitali, Mitch Epstein, Alec Soth, Katy Grannan, Trent Parke and Pieter Hugo - to name a few.
Photo: Installation View by Tom Ross
September 13, 2019
Last month I was asked to photograph a cryonics training weekend in Sheffield for the Telegraph Magazine. After a four year break it was really interesting to catch up with the group and meet some new members. The article features some new pictures alongside a few from my original series. Here’s a link to the article online, although most of it is behind a paywall so you will need a Telegraph subscription to see all of it.
May 7, 2019
Out today, my first cover for FT Weekend Magazine, a story about the rapidly growing world of self-storage - I met some interesting folks too. Big thanks to Emma Bowkett and Josh Lustig for the assignment, I really enjoyed working on this.
July 28, 2018
I took some portraits of Matt Haig, author of Notes from a Nervous Planet, at his home in Brighton for the Telegraph Magazine. Thanks to Andy Greenacre for the assignment.
June 27, 2018
I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been commissioned by Photoworks to make new work for CONNECT - the 3Ts Hospital Redevelopment Public Art Programme for the Royal Sussex County Hospital - along with Zoe Childerley, Celine Marchbank and Helen Sear. More info here.
May 15, 2018
The Prospect of Immortality is going on show at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe this weekend, opening on the 31st March until 9th June - the exhibition is a slightly edited version of the original Impressions Gallery show.
Photo: Meeting for prospective members, Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona. October 2006
March 29, 2018
The Prospect of Immortality is going on show this weekend in Paris as part of Festival Circulation(s). For the first time I’m exhibiting The Martinot Story (the first chapter of the book), about the retired French doctor Raymond Martinot and his failed cryonics experiment beneath his château in the Pays de la Loire region of France, as well as a selection of other pictures from the broader project.
Photo: Le Chalet de Preuil (view from the road), Nueil-sur-Layon, Pays de la Loire. March 2007
March 16, 2018
There was an excellent article in The Times earlier this week by Adam Barnard on living with grief and why he and his family started the Rebecca Vassie Trust, which awards bursaries to early-to-mid-career photographers in the UK.
It was a real pleasure to meet Adam, Kelly and baby Audrey last week and take their portrait.
October 23, 2017
All images and text
© Murray Ballard, 2023
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