Writing her own script. Women Photographers from the Hyman Collection: Photo London 2023.

‘Writing her own Script’ celebrates many of the pioneering women photographers at work in Britain over the last 100 years. It charts a course from the 1930s to the present and provides an overview of photography in Britain that focuses on two strands: a humanistic documentary tradition and a more personal, performative, practice. The exhibition takes its name from a large-scale photograph by Susan Hiller.

It begins with political and social engagement, presenting the very rare work of Edith Tudor-Hart, the Picture Post photographs of Grace Robertson, the street photography of Dorothy Bohm and the humanism of Shirley Baker and Marketa Luskacova. It then suggests the importance of this legacy to younger photographers that include Eliza Hatch and Bindi Vora. It aims to provide an opportunity to consider the use of photography as a social or political tool.

The exhibition then focuses on the pioneering feminist work of Jo Spence, Alexis Hunter, Susan Hiller and Sonia Boyce and their exploration of psychological and physical wellbeing. In doing so it aims to de-stigmatise subjects around mental health and create an environment in which people can have open conversations about their wellbeing. This section will include the photo-therapy of Rosy Martin, powerful portraits by Anna Fox, and the self-portrait based works of Heather Agyepong, Juno Calypso, Rose-Finn Kelcey and Polly Penrose.