Clare Strand, 'Gone Astray Details', 2002/3
number of works in series, 10
Clare Strand, 'Signs Of A Struggle', 2003
number of works in series, 9
Over the last ten years, dissatisfied with the often complacent values of the photography world, Clare Strand has assembled a body of work that is both subversive and celebratory in its approach to photographic conventions. During this period Strand's art has developed through a series of increasingly interesting and unique projects that have explored various photographic genres, from Victorian portraiture to crime scene and forensic photography.
In these series she has dwelt on the oddity of photography's strange backwaters, its utilitarian functions and its infiltration of every corner of our lives, to make us question the value and complex meanings of photographic images. This might be simply quirky and strange, but in Strand's work it is resolved through photographs of incredible quality and genuine originality.
In our photographically saturated times, Strand's work remains distinctively new and difficult to place, and yet it is also uncannily familiar, drawing heavily on the genres she investigates. In recent years she has consistently worked in black and white and has exploited the traditional qualities of the fine print to startling effect. It is the wit, the irony and perverse logic of these formidable black and white series, with their continued clashing and mixing up of photographic ideas and sources, that has won her an international reputation.
Clare Strand was born in 1973 and studied at the University of Brighton, followed by an MA in Photography at the Royal College of Art in 1998. Her work has been included in numerous publications including Vitamin Ph, Portfolio, Photoworks magazine and Creative Camera. She has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including Tate Britain; the National Media Museum, Bradford; Huis Marseille, Amsterdam; The Photographer's Gallery, London and the Hassleblad Center, Göteborg.
An exhibition of her work is at the Folkwang Museum until 5 April.
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