On Photography

Discover a range of perspectives reflecting on the nature, influence and role of the medium.

Cao Fei Nova, 2019 © Cao Fei Courtesy of artist, Vitamin Creative Space and Sprüth Magers

On Photography

Discover a range of perspectives reflecting on the nature, influence and role of the medium.

Photographs are perhaps the most mysterious of all the objects that make up, and thicken, the environment we recognise as modern

Susan Sontag - On Photography

When Susan Sontag published her ground-breaking collection of essays, ‘On Photography’ in 1977 The Photographers’ Gallery was just six years old. It’s no accident that these two events occurred in the same era. The 70s brought to the fore an explosion of new thought and concerns around class, gender, morality, power and possession all of which found a focal point in the medium of photography. The increasing proliferation of images, then as now, demand scrutiny and it was always the intention of TPG’s founder, Sue Davies, that photography be considered within a wider socio-political context - evidenced by the inaugural exhibition in 1971, The Concerned Photographer.

The evolving collection of writings, readings, audio, visuals and other viewpoints gathered here, aim to provide an invaluable resource for the wider understanding of and critical engagement with Photography and the way we use it to experience the world.