GRAIN Photographers' Talks Programme - Trish Morrissey

Trish Morrissey has said her work is a study of the language of photography through still and moving images. She uses performance and wit as tools to investigate the boundaries of photographic meaning. Most of her work features herself as the protagonist. She does not consider them to be self-portraits per se, though they can be read that way. Humour is used as a tool to disarm the viewer. Morrissey uses fact and fiction to look at family experiences and national identities, feminine and masculine roles, and relationships between strangers.

Born in Dublin and now living in the UK Morrissey has exhibited widely including most recently at Hestercombe Gallery, Somerset until February 25th 2018. Recent solo and two person shows were held at Bohuslans Museum, Sweden (2016), Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne (2010), and Impressions Gallery Bradford, UK (2009). Recent group exhibitions include Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2015), Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy (2014) and the Perth Institute for Contemporary Arts, Australia (2012). Her work is in the permanent collection of The Gosta Serlachius Fine Art Foundation, Finland, The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, The National Media Museum, Bradford and the Wilson Centre for Photography, London. She is included in several survey publications, most notably, 'The Photograph as Contemporary Art' by Charlotte Cotton, (Thames and Hudson, 2005) 'Vitamin Ph, Survey of International Contemporary Photography,' (Phaidon 2006), 'Auto Focus: The Self-Portrait in Contemporary Photography', by Susan Bright (Thames and Hudson 2010), and 'Photography and Ireland' by Justin Carville, (Exposures 2012). Two monographs 'Seven Years' (2004) and 'Front' (2009) were published by Impressions Gallery.

Image credit: Long Grass from Trish Morrissey: A certain slant of light, Hestercombe Gallery, 17 November 2017 - 25th February 2018