Self Evident (1995) © Ingrid Pollard
Ingrid Pollard, one of Britain’s leading contemporary photographers and artists, is the recipient of the 2024 Hasselblad Award – the world’s largest photography prize. Her first solo exhibition in Scandinavia showcases her work from the 1980s to the present, spanning four decades. At the core of Pollard’s oeuvre is her interest in photography, both its technical aspects and its historical use as an instrument of power and control. Central themes include memory, identity, and belonging, explored through studies of landscape, migration, and beauty.
The exhibition opens with the installation Demo Frieze / No Cover Up (2019), which sets the tone for Pollard’s work and demonstrates her strong commitment to people, history, and political activism. The installation presents archival images from demonstrations in London during the 1980s and 90s against racism, police brutality, and in support of human rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and feminism. The series Contenders (1995) focuses on the boxing world, where Pollard explores gender identity, masculinity, and violence. Similar themes are also explored in the series The Boys of Tulse Hill School from 1990, featuring tender portraits of teenage boys taken in the socioeconomically challenged area of Brixton, South London.
Pollard’s interest in landscape is evident in many of her works, particularly her classic series Pastoral Interlude from 1987. This series revolves around the concept of “Englishness” in relation to Black individuals portrayed in the English countryside. Pollard’s exploration of photography’s complex role within a colonial context is highlighted in works such as The Valentine Days (1891/2017) and Emancipation Day Celebration (1891/2018). These consist of archival images from the Caribbean Photo Archive, which Pollard has edited to bring forward and give agency to the Black people depicted in the photographs. In Flotilla of Fragility (2008), Pollard addresses the theme of migration, reflecting on the fragility of life and the vulnerability of those fleeing across seas under dangerous conditions. In the series Seventeen of Sixty-Eight from 2019, Pollard photographed pubs and street signs in both rural and urban areas across Britain over a 25-year period. The project documents contemporary remnants of how Black people have been represented in public spaces and how these depictions now serve as reminders of their histories and historical injustices.
The exhibition also includes early photographs from the 1980s, when Pollard often photographed prominent international cultural figures, dancers, and actors in queer and Black theatre groups. This interest in portraiture within the performing arts remains an important aspect of her work.
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