Sophy Rickett
Encyclopedia
Sophy Rickett is a visual artist, working with photography
and video/sound installation
.
, London. Rickett’s work came to prominence in the late 90s, following her graduation from The Royal College of Art, London in the Summer of 1999.
One of her earliest works, Vauxhall Bridge, depicted Rickett urinating standing up while attired in expensive feminine clothes, against the backdrop of Terry Farrell's iconic SIS building at Vauxhall Cross. It was reviewed in Creative Camera magazine in 1996. Some people saw the "Pissing Women" series as a satire of male behavior, though many did not know the women were genuinely urinating. Sophy Rickett stated in the interview "this was something I did," and the photographs were not manipulated.
Selected group exhibitions include: New Photography in Britain, Galleria Civica, Modena, Italy; Les Peintres de la Vie Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Fotografierte Landschaften, Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany; Night, Royal West of England Academy, Bath, UK; Order and Chaos, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland, and Where are We?, Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
In 2002, she was awarded the Arts Council of England Helen Chadwick Fellowship which was co-hosted by Ruskin School, Oxford UK and the British School at Rome
, Italy.
In 2007, having been commissioned by Photoworks and Glyndebourne Opera
, she produced her first major film installation Auditorium, in collaboration with the composer Ed Hughes.
Rickett’s work is included in the following collections: Pompidou
, Paris, France; Government Art Collection
, UK; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
, Nantes, France; Victoria and Albert Museum
, London, UK.
Commissions include Mont Blanc and BMW. Published monographs include Photoworks/Steidl in 2005 and Emily Tsingou Gallery in 2001. She lives and works in London, and is Reader in Photography at the University of Derby
.
2006 – Vitamin PH, Phaidon, London ISBN 10 07148-4656-2
Les Peintres de la Vie Moderne, Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris ISBN 2-84426-316-X
2005 – Sophy Rickett (Monograph), Steidl / Photoworks ISBN 3–86521–088–0
2003 – ed. Urs Stahel, Order & Chaos, Fotomuseum Winterthur/Christoph Merian Verlag
2001 – Kate Bush, The Fantastic Recurrence of Certain Situations, Communidad de Madrid, Spain
ed. by Graham Gussin and Ele Carpenter, Nothing, August and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, UK
Photographs, Emily Tsingou Gallery, London
1999 – F.Bonami, Common People: Arte Inglese tra Fenomeno e Realtà, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudenco per l’Arte, Italy
Jardin de Eros, Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, Spain
1998 – New Contemporaries 98, New Contemporaries Ltd, UK
Remix, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, France
On the Bright side of Life, Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (NGBK), Berlin, Germany
1997 – Public Relations-New British Photography, Cantz, Germany
2003 – Recipient of Mont Blanc Cutting Edge Award to Artists
2002 – Fellowship at St Johns College, Oxford
2002 – Arts Council of England, Helen Chadwick Fellowship, hosted by The British School at Rome / Ruskin School, Oxford
2000 – Fellowship at DCA, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, UK
1999 – BMW Financial Services Millennium Commission in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and video/sound installation
Video installation
Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has increased in popularity as digital video production...
.
Career
Between 1990 and 1993, Rickett studied for a BA (Hons) in Photography at London College of CommunicationLondon College of Communication
The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, located in Elephant and Castle. It has about 5,000 students on 60 courses in media and design courses preparing students for careers in the creative industries...
, London. Rickett’s work came to prominence in the late 90s, following her graduation from The Royal College of Art, London in the Summer of 1999.
One of her earliest works, Vauxhall Bridge, depicted Rickett urinating standing up while attired in expensive feminine clothes, against the backdrop of Terry Farrell's iconic SIS building at Vauxhall Cross. It was reviewed in Creative Camera magazine in 1996. Some people saw the "Pissing Women" series as a satire of male behavior, though many did not know the women were genuinely urinating. Sophy Rickett stated in the interview "this was something I did," and the photographs were not manipulated.
Visual practice
Rickett's work explores the competing forces of light and darkness in defining and articulating space, often using photography as a way of exploring the distinction between seeing and looking. She is interested in the tension between the abstract possibilities and narrative tendencies of photography and film/video. Made mainly at night, and often in peripheral or mundane environments, her work ponders the potential of photography to conceal as much as reveal. In both colour and black and white, her photographs cohere around strong formal properties, and are often minimal in character, playing on the latent narrative possibilities of place.Exhibitions
Solo shows include Ffotogallery, Cardiff; De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea; Alberto Peola, Turin, Italy; Nichido Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan; Centre pour L’image Contemporain Saint-Gervais, Switzerland and Emily Tsingou, London.Selected group exhibitions include: New Photography in Britain, Galleria Civica, Modena, Italy; Les Peintres de la Vie Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Fotografierte Landschaften, Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany; Night, Royal West of England Academy, Bath, UK; Order and Chaos, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland, and Where are We?, Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
In 2002, she was awarded the Arts Council of England Helen Chadwick Fellowship which was co-hosted by Ruskin School, Oxford UK and the British School at Rome
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
, Italy.
In 2007, having been commissioned by Photoworks and Glyndebourne Opera
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
, she produced her first major film installation Auditorium, in collaboration with the composer Ed Hughes.
Rickett’s work is included in the following collections: Pompidou
Pompidou
People named Pompidou include:*Georges Pompidou, former French Prime Minister and President*Alain Pompidou, foster son of Georges Pompidou and President of the European Patent Office from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007Named after President Pompidou is:...
, Paris, France; Government Art Collection
Government Art Collection
The United Kingdom's Government Art Collection places works of art in major Government buildings in the UK and around the world to promote British art, culture and history....
, UK; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
The Fine arts Museum of Nantes is an art museum in Nantes, France.The museum was created in 1801 with the purchase of the Cacault collection and was located in is actual Palais des Beaux-Arts since 1900....
, Nantes, France; Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London, UK.
Commissions include Mont Blanc and BMW. Published monographs include Photoworks/Steidl in 2005 and Emily Tsingou Gallery in 2001. She lives and works in London, and is Reader in Photography at the University of Derby
University of Derby
The University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...
.
Publications and catalogues
2008 – New British Photography, Skira, Italy2006 – Vitamin PH, Phaidon, London ISBN 10 07148-4656-2
Les Peintres de la Vie Moderne, Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris ISBN 2-84426-316-X
2005 – Sophy Rickett (Monograph), Steidl / Photoworks ISBN 3–86521–088–0
2003 – ed. Urs Stahel, Order & Chaos, Fotomuseum Winterthur/Christoph Merian Verlag
2001 – Kate Bush, The Fantastic Recurrence of Certain Situations, Communidad de Madrid, Spain
ed. by Graham Gussin and Ele Carpenter, Nothing, August and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, UK
Photographs, Emily Tsingou Gallery, London
1999 – F.Bonami, Common People: Arte Inglese tra Fenomeno e Realtà, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudenco per l’Arte, Italy
Jardin de Eros, Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, Spain
1998 – New Contemporaries 98, New Contemporaries Ltd, UK
Remix, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, France
On the Bright side of Life, Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (NGBK), Berlin, Germany
1997 – Public Relations-New British Photography, Cantz, Germany
Awards and commissions
2008 – Recipient of Development Grant, Film and Video Umbrella, UK2003 – Recipient of Mont Blanc Cutting Edge Award to Artists
2002 – Fellowship at St Johns College, Oxford
2002 – Arts Council of England, Helen Chadwick Fellowship, hosted by The British School at Rome / Ruskin School, Oxford
2000 – Fellowship at DCA, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, UK
1999 – BMW Financial Services Millennium Commission in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
External links
- Ffotogallery
- De La Warr Pavilion
- Nichido Contemporary Art
- Alberto Peola
- Galleria Civica di Moderna
- Fotomuseum official webpage
- Glyndebourne Opera official webpage
- Steidl official webpage
- http://www.photoworksuk.org/projects/past/details.asp?ID=83
- http://www.fotonet.org.uk/rickett/index.html
- http://www.sitegallery.org/exhibitions/view.php?id=83
- http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=424007300&page_tab=Bio_and_links
- http://www.fotonet.org.uk/rickett/index.html
- http://www.frieze.com/issue/print_back/sophie_rickett/
- http://www.centreimage.ch/cic_archives/02progF/expos/2003/rickett_f.html
- http://www.camera-magenta.com/feMale_rickett_ing.html