Sarah Pickering

Sarah Pickering (born 1972) is a British visual artist working with photography[1] and related media including 3D scanning and digital rendering, performance,[2] appropriated objects and print. Her artist statement says she is interested in "fakes, tests, hierarchy, sci-fi, explosions, photography and gunfire."[3] She is based in London.

For the actress, see Little Dorrit (1987 film).

Pickering's book Explosions, Fires and Public Order was published by Aperture in 2010, and she has contributed work to many other books. She has had solo exhibitions at Meessen De Clercq, Brussels (2009),[4] Ffotogallery, Wales (2009),[5] Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago (MoCP, 2010),[6] and Durham Art Gallery (2013);[7] and was included in Manifesta 11 in Zurich (2016).[8] Her commission, "Match, 2015", is a 38 metre long public artwork on show at Castlegate Shopping Centre, Stockton-on-Tees in 2017.[9][10] Her work is held in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; MoCP, Chicago, IL; and North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC.

She is a part-time teaching fellow in fine art media at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.[11][12]

Life and work

Pickering was born and raised in Durham, England, and attended Belmont Comprehensive School and Durham Sixth Form Centre.[13] After a foundation course in art and design at Newcastle College (1991–1992), she was awarded a BA (Hons.) in photographic studies at the University of Derby (1992–1995), and a MA in photography at the Royal College of Art (2003–2005).[14][15]

Her artist statement says she is interested in "fakes, tests, hierarchy, sci-fi, explosions, photography and gunfire."[3]

Based in London, she is a part-time teaching fellow in fine art media at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.[11][12]

Publications

Publications by Pickering

• Sarah Pickering - Explosions, Fires and Public Order. Aperture, 2010. ISBN 978-1597111232.

Publications with contributions by Pickering

• Vitamin Ph, A survey of Contemporary Photography. Phaidon Press, 2006. ISBN 9780714856421.
• System Error: War is a Force that Gives us Meaning. Italy: Silvana Editoriale, 2007. ISBN 9788836608423. Edited by L. Fusi and N. Mohaiemen.
• How We Are Photographing Britain from the 1840s to the present. London: Tate, 2007. ISBN 9781854377142. Edited by Val Williams and Susan Bright.
• In our World, New Photography in Britain. 2008. Milan: Skira. ISBN 9788861305434. Edited by Filippo Maggia. Pickering's contribution is on pages 142–151.
• Foam Album 08. Amsterdam: Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, 2008. ISBN 9789490022013.
• New Light: Jerwood Photography Awards 2003–08. Edinburgh: Portfolio Magazine, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9520608-4-0. With a foreword by Roanne Dods, an essay by Martin Barnes, and an afterword by Gloria Chalmers.
• Theatres of the Real. Antwerp: Fotomuseum Antwerp; Brighton: Photoworks, 2009. ISBN 9781903796269.
• Realtà Manipolate/Manipulating Reality. Alias, 2009. ISBN 9788896532041.
• C International Photo Magazine 09. London: Ivorypress, 2009. ISBN 9780955961335.
• Bruit De Fond/Background Noise. Je Suis une Bande de Jeunes, 2010. ISBN 9782953350616.
• Afterwards: Contemporary Photography Confronting the Past. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011. ISBN 9780500543986. Edited by Nathalie Herschdorfer.
• Public Relations. SAFLE Commission, 2012. ISBN 9780950820163.
• Hijacked III: Australia / United Kingdom. Cottesloe, WA: Big City Press; Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2012. ISBN 9783868282856. Exhibition catalogue.
• The Photographer’s Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas. New York: Aperture, 2014. ISBN 978-1-59711-247-5. Edited by Gregory Halpern and Jason Fulford.
• Staging Disorder. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781910433157. Edited by Christopher Stewart and Esther Teichmann.
• Revelations. London: Mack, 2015. Edited by Ben Burbridge. ISBN 9781907946455.

Awards

• 2005: Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers Photography Prize, Royal College of Art.[16]
• 2005: The Photographers' Gallery Graduate Award, London.[17]
• 2005: Jerwood Photography Award, for Public Order. Other winners were Daniel Gustav Cramer, Nina Mangalanayagam, Oliver Parker, and Luke Stephenson.[18][19]
• 2008: Peter S. Reed Award, Peter S. Reed Foundation, USA.[20]
• 2015: Refocus: the Castlegate mima Photography Prize, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima) and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. A commission to produce "Match, 2015".[21][22]

Exhibitions

Notable solo exhibitions

• Fire Scene, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York City, 2008.[23]
• Explosion, Meessen De Clercq, Brussels, March–April 2009.[4]
• Holding Fire, Ffotogallery, Wales, May–June 2009.[5][5]
• Incident Control, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL, 2010.[6]
• Aim & Fire, included Celestial Objects and other works, Durham Art Gallery, Durham, England. Part of The Social: Encountering Photography festival, 2013, for which Celestial Objects was commissioned.[7][24]

Notable group exhibitions

• Part of East International festival, Norwich, UK, 2005. Selected by Gustav Metzger.[25]
• How We Are: Photographing Britain from the 1840s to the Present, Tate Britain, London, 2007. Curated by Val Williams and Susan Bright.[26]
• ‘Theatres of the Real’ – Contemporary British Post-Documentary Photography, Fotomuseum Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, June–September 2009. Curated by David Green and Joanna Lowry.[27]
• Manipulating Reality: How Images Redefine the World, Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy, September 2009 – January 2010.[28]
• Signs of a Struggle: Photography in the Wake of Postmodernism, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, August–November 2011.[29][30] Curated by Marta Weiss.
• An Orchestrated Vision: The Theater of Contemporary Photography, Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, February–May 2012.[31][32][33]
• Living in the Ruins of the Twentieth Century, UTS Gallery, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, April–May 2013.[34][35]
• Revelations: Experiments in Photography, Media Space, Science Museum, London, March–September 2015;[36] National Media Museum, Bradford, November 2015 – February 2016.[37] Co-curated by Greg Hobson and Ben Burbridge.
• Professions Performing in Art, Manifesta 11, Zurich, 2016. Curated by Christian Jankowski and Francesca Gavin.[8]

Collections

Pickering's work is held in the following permanent collections:

• Victoria and Albert Museum, London: 2 prints[38]
• Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL: 2 prints[39][40]
• North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC: 3 prints[41]

References

1. Davies, Lucy (25 August 2010). "Sarah Pickering". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
2. "Sarah Pickering - Pickpocket - A free Professional Development Workshop for Artists". Manifesta. Accessed 7 April 2017
3. Pickering, Sarah. "Bio". Retrieved 18 April 2017.
4. "Sarah Pickering: Explosion: March 6, 2009 - April 11, 2009". Meessen De Clercq. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
5. "Exhibitions: Sarah Pickering – Holding Fire: May 9 - Jun 20 2009". Ffotogallery. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
6. "Sarah Pickering: Incident Control: Apr 9 — Jun 20, 2010". Museum of Contemporary Photography. Accessed 6 April 2017
7. "Photographers' artwork putting city in the picture". Sunderland Echo. Sunderland. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
8. "Professions Performing in Art". Manifesta. Accessed 7 April 2017
9. Webber, Chris (30 May 2015). "A heavenly match made in Stockton to be displayed in new work of art". Darlington: The Northern Echo. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
10. Sampson, Lindsey (29 May 2015). "Student's 38-metre friction match artwork to take pride of place in Stockton". Middlesbrough: Teesside Gazette. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
11. "Ms Sarah Pickering: Teaching Fellow". Slade School of Fine Art. Accessed 6 April 2017
12. "People > All Staff". Slade School of Fine Art. Accessed 7 April 2017
13. Thompson, Fiona (13 November 2013). "Sarah's Exhibition Hits the Mark". Sunderland Echo. Sunderland. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
14. Sarah Pickering (2010). Sarah Pickering - Explosions, Fires and Public Order. Aperture Foundation. p. 121. ISBN 978-1597111232.
15. "Locate: A Jerwood Encounters exhibition: Curated by Sarah Williams". Jerwood Foundation. Accessed 18 April 2017
16. Filippo Maggia, ed. (2008). In our World, New Photography in Britain. Skira. p. 143. ISBN 9788861305434.
17. "Sarah Pickering Wins The Photographers' Gallery Graduate Award". The Photographers' Gallery, 13 June 2005. Accessed 7 April 2017
18. "Jerwood Photography Award 2005". Jerwood Charitable Foundation. Accessed 7 April 2017
19. Judd, Terri (18 November 2005). "Photographers take a view on hot political issues". London: The Independent. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
20. "The Peter S. Reed Foundation". Peter S. Reed Foundation. Accessed 7 April 2017
21. "Match, 2015". Refocus. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
22. "Teesside University lecturer recreates famous John Walker match". Teesside University. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
23. Gopnik, Blake (15 January 2006). "Up in Smoke: An Explosive Approach to Art". Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
24. Padley, Gemma (1 November 2013). "New photography festival takes over Northeast England". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
25. "East International 2005: Sarah Pickering". East International, Norwich University of the Arts. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
26. "We are here: Photographing Britain", Tate, 1 May 2007. Accessed 17 April 2017.
27. "Archive 2009". Fotomuseum Antwerp. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
28. "Manipulating Reality: How Images Redefine the World". Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
29. Ward, Ossian (20 August 2011). "Signs of a Struggle, V&A, London". London: The Independent. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
30. "Signs of a Struggle: V&A - review". London: London Evening Standard. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
31. "An Orchestrated Vision: The Theater of Contemporary Photography: February 19–May 13, 2012". Saint Louis Art Museum. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
32. Richard B. Woodward (17 April 2012). "Walls Come Tumbling Down". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
33. Beall, Dickson (29 February 2012). ""An Orchestrated Vision": Saint Louis Art Museum debuts exhibit of contemporary photography". Webster-Kirkwood Times. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
34. "Living In The Ruins Of The Twentieth Century: A vision of the twentieth century as a history of false starts, misbegotten technologies and missing utopias". University of Technology, Sydney. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
35. "Exhibition installation views". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
36. "Revelations: Experiments in Photography". Media Space. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
37. "Revelations: Experiments in Photography". National Science and Media Museum. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
38. "Search the Collections". Victoria & Albert Museum. Accessed 7 April 2017
39. "Landmine". Museum of Contemporary Photography. Accessed 7 April 2017
40. "Dining Room". Museum of Contemporary Photography. Accessed 17 April 2017
41. "Permanent Collection". North Carolina Museum of Art. Accessed 7 April 2017

External links

• Official website
• Video interview from 2010 in which Susan Bright gives an introduction to Pickering, who talks about her Public Order series
• Video interviews about making the "Match, 2015" commission for Refocus: the Castlegate mima Photography Prize