Ingrid Pollard (born Georgetown, Guyana) is one of the leading figures in contemporary British art. She is an accomplished photographer whose 40-year career has queried how images are staged and constructed. Working in portraiture, often with a range of performers as well as her own archives, Pollard explores how the body is interpreted, through characteristics of gender, sexuality, race, class, beauty and through photographic histories and theories. Pollard questions the long-held tradition of the English, romantic idyll within rural geographies, as she works to uncover stories and histories that are hidden in plain sight, within the landscape. In 2019, she received the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists, in 2020 the Freelands Award and has been nominated for the Turner Prize 2022. Pollard's work is held in public collections including the Tate and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She lives and works in Northumberland, UK. Fay Blanchard is Head of Exhibitions at MK Gallery. Prior to joining the gallery she worked as Visual Arts Curator with the British Council, producing exhibitions of artists including Michael Landy, Grayson Perry and Paula Rego. Anthony Spira is Director of MK Gallery, having been curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, London and the Jeu de Paume, Paris. He has produced many publications on artists including Ellen Altfest, Hans Bellmer, Peter Dreher and George Stubbs. With contributions by Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Cheryl Finley, Paul Gilroy, Mason Leaver-Yap and Gilane Tawadros.
