Artist Profiles in alphabetical order – Family Ties exhibition
St. Margaret’s House - 02.07.24 - 29.07.24
PETYA ABRAHAM
Pass the Love Forward, 2022-2024
Pass the Love Forward celebrates life’s cyclical nature, the power of tradition and the enduring legacy of love.
In the series, I explore the power of familial bonds and intergenerational connections through two intimately linked photographs. The series consists of a multigenerational portrait of my 2-year-old daughter, myself and my mother, and a solitary white rose. It is rooted in a childhood memory of a lullaby sung by my grandmother, and delves into the continuum of familial tradition. Witnessing my mother sing the same melody to my daughter illuminates the timeless thread that binds us across generations.
As my daughter was growing up and asked me about the song’s origins, I struggled to explain the concept of loss to a young child. Finding solace in a white rose - a symbol of love and purity - I shared with her the belief that her great-grandmother’s essence resides within it, waiting to be awakened by the tender melody of the lullaby.
PETYA ABRAHAM is a London-based photographer with a keen interest in fine art. Her journey in photography began in earnest when she moved to London, where she honed her technical skills and artistic vision. While specialising in wedding and commercial photography, she has dedicated the last few years to studying photography and fine art, growing her portfolio with diverse genre of photography. Committed to capturing the essence of human condition through photography, she strives to transform ordinary moments into captivating visual narratives, aiming to elevate each image into a piece of visual poetry.
Instagram: @petya_abraham
Email: petya.abraham@gmail.com
Website: https://rosenartgallery.com/
GIULIA BALLARIN
Of memory and belonging, 2022
The yellow water pipe runs around the perimeter of the backyard, like veins, or roots of a tree that has survived the frost and the intense sun of many summers.
A life that embraces the rhythm of Nature.
A man who knows every millimetre of that land.
This project is about a place, a sense of belonging to the land I grew up in.
A group of people, a way of life, a flow of memories, the fear of seeing the landscape change, decay, and my loved ones leave me.
Through these images, I seek to capture the essence of that timeless connection, a testament to the profound human relationship with the earth and the lasting legacy of my grandfather’s love and care for the place we call home.
Dear Palestine
I know how much a man can love his land
A child walking barefoot
Eating fruit from trees his grandparents cared for decades
I know how clearly a woman can remember the way the sun sets behind the trees
At the top of the hill
In front of her house
The pain of losing it
Of seeing it stolen
and destroyed
I do not know
Today
I can only begin to imagine
GIULIA BALLARIN (b.1996) is a visual artist working with analogue photography and alternative printing processes. In her practice she investigates themes related to memory, sense of
belonging, individual and collective identity, and her personal connection to the natural world. She graduated in Photography from London Metropolitan University. Her work has been published in Source, Outlast Journal and Perimetro Naturale and was exhibited in IMAGENATION PARIS in Galerie Joseph Le Palais. She is Association of Photographers Student Awards finalist. She is the author of Of memory and belonging photobook, a photo essay on migration, homeland and altered memories.
Instagram: @giuliaballarin.art
Website: giuliaballarin54fd95.myportfolio.com
MINA BOROMAND
Letter to My Mum, 2024
TURAN*
You are the wood, the earth
the air I take in my breath
You are the hope, resilience
the compassion in my soul
You are the seeds, Zireh, Cummins and moreYou are the herbs, Tarkhun, Rayhan and all
You are the spice, Turmeric, Ginger and more
You are the magic dust that spreads the Peace
Humanity, Kindness and Care
* Turan is my mother’s name
Letter to My Mum is a series that combines archival photography with different components to envisage my memory and the connection with my mother. The images are a part of an ongoing research project on aphantasia (the inability to form mental images of thoughts) and focus on remembering the past through the ties of motherhood, the impact my mother’s life has had and how she influenced me. I seek to remember by seeking out family archival photographs. The project is a collaboration with the French documentary filmmaker Guillaume Tran and forms part of his MA ethnographic documentary film project on the relationship between memory and photography, and investigates new approaches to aphantasia as a form of storytelling.
MINA BOROMAND is an Iranian British artist and photographer currently based in London. Like countless others of her generation in Iran, she actively opposed dictatorship and autocracy during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and took part in street protests. In her practice she draws on her personal history of activism, revolution, displacement, idealism and anguish to inform her work which, in mirroring her life and experience, crosses the boundaries of mediums, styles, character and composition. She was awarded ‘Women in Photography’ bursary by The Royal Photographic Society in 2022 and features in Breathing Space: Iranian Women Photographers (Thames & Hudson, 2023). She recently exhibited with Kvasnevski Schwartz Projects Gallery in New York as part of Fire In Her Eyes exhibition and at Les Rencontres d’Arles RE /construction exhibition.
Email: mina@minaboromand.com
Website: www.minaboromand.com
Instagram: @minaboromandphoto_art
ALBA DE LA CRUZ
El Mantón de la Abuela: Cara B, 2022
In El Mantón de la Abuela: Cara B (Grandmother's shawl: Side B), I explore the intricate connections within my family, anchored by the Manila shawl - a cherished family relic acquired by my great-grandmother Luz. Originating from Andalusia, this exquisite garment encapsulates a heritage rich in tradition, history, and the essence of womanhood. This Manila shawl embarked on a journey that transcended continents, finding its way to Chile before returning to Spain.
In this series I delve into the unseen, performative characteristics of the shawl - the graceful dance of the fabric, the intricate details that hint at stories of resilience and love. Through my lens, I capture the essence of our shared heritage, celebrating the bond that transcends both time and geography. The Manila shawl serves as a tangible link of my family ties, weaving together the stories of past and present generations. It serves as a symbol of connection that binds us as a family.
ALBA DE LA CRUZ (b.1998) is a Spanish-Chilean photographic artist living and working in Spain. In her practice she explores her own family history and current events. She has a BA in Photography from London Metropolitan University and MA in Color Grading from ECAM in Madrid. She is a winner of Carmen Bueno–Jorge Müller short film competition run by The Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Chile. She recently exhibited for NEO X Raza in Madrid. Her work has been published in Source magazine.
Instagram: @Albadelacruz
Website: Albadelacruz.com
Email: AlbadlCruz98@gmail.com
ANIA DĄBROWSKA
On My Plate, 2020-ongoing
On My Plate playfully contrasts the realities of family life with idealised aesthetic of aspirational lifestyle imagery. The photographed objects are a result of real-life events, metaphors for unexpected domestic narratives, the joys, and the trials of the everyday. From kitchen table disasters, those randomly arranged leftover Lego pieces, playdough creations, forgotten paint brushes, dried up volcano lava, bloodied baby teeth forced out by an apple; each a relic of a fleeting moment, which despite of its profoundly mundane nature, can instantly be tinted with nostalgia for the time’s passing, become a tipping point for a scream of frustration or laughter that accepts the reign of chaos.
There is another layer of a narrative at play, that of a single working mum, an artist, rarely a domestic goddess. She spins the plates of responsibilities, juggles too many balls, affirms that she does not need to feel defeated by those that drop, injecting moments of ‘studio time’ into the daily hamster wheel run. With the series growing, I started to see these photographs as ‘objects that can employ powers associated with magic, illusion and display,’ to quote from Tim Morton’s book Realist Magic: Objects, Ontology, Causality (Open Humanities Press, 2013), transformative tools challenging the domestic ‘withdrawal’.
ANIA DĄBROWSKA was born in Poland and now lives and works in East London. She is an award-winning artist, photographer and curator. She works with photography, installation, text, sound, and moving image. She has an MA in Photography from UAL London College of Communication. She was selected for 2007 National Portrait Gallery’s Photographic Portrait Prize, the winner of 2003 Observer Hodge Photographic Award and was awarded The Wellcome Trust People Award 2008-2011. She is the author of A Lebanese Archive: From the collection of Diab Alkarssifi (Book Works and Arab Image Foundation, 2015). She is a Senior Lecturer in Photography and Critical and Contextual Studies at London Metropolitan University.
Instagram: @aniadabrowska
CRISTINA FILIMON
Our Old House, 2024
While exploring the aesthetic appeal and metaphorical complexity of the derelict urban locations found in my hometown during my last project, I also photographed the house where my sister and I grew up, which will soon be demolished. Discarded personal items; toys and books, and clothes; the marks made by our presence on the very surface of the old house. They all serve as reminders of my past and its relationship to my present.
During the visit, I come across an unprocessed 35mm colour film. I was astonished to find images of myself and my sister from when we were little among the frames. This led me to want to recreate the captured moments by photographing my nieces, Sofia and Maria, who mirror the ages we were at that time. This series is not merely a juxtaposition of past and present; it is a testament to the enduring legacy of family ties and speaks to the cyclical nature of familial narratives.
CRISTINA FILIMON is a Romanian visual artist and photographer with experience in analogue, digital and moving image, based in London. Her work is primarily rooted in street photography, psychogeography and documentary photography. In her practice she seeks to investigate the ambiguous space that exists between the ordinary and the uncanny, aiming to uncover meanings behind the apparent simplicity of places, people and things. She is Association of Photographers Student Awards Gold winner and holds a BA degree in Photography from London Metropolitan University.
Email: info@cristinafilimon.co.uk
Website: cristinafilimon.co.uk
Instagram: @crissfilimon
NINA IJOMONE
Navigating Domestic Legacies, 2023
Navigating Domestic Legacies is a symbolic space for my mother, who has been overshadowed by my father in the domestic sphere. My father manages our home according to his own needs, often neglecting the needs of the other members of the family. I experienced this myself when I was growing up, but now this neglect affects my mother the most as she is not a visiting guest in the house like me - but its inhabitant. The letter I saved, which my mother tried to throw away in an attempt to free up space in our family house, reflects my struggle to preserve my mother’s memories in the sea of my father’s indifference. The flowers from her garden, an example of the many objects considered to be unnecessary by my father and which clash with his belongings, become the space I tend to in defense of my mother. The work aims to capture the essence of our family dynamics and my struggle for my mother’s identity and my identity as a daughter and as a woman.
NINA IJOMONE is a Polish artist working with photography, sound and installation, based in London. Her work is often biographical and heavily influenced by an interest in psychology, which informs her exploration of the subjects of mental health, migration, social and cultural matters, and the body. She was awarded Best Project Resolution Award by London Metropolitan University in 2023. She is the co-curator of Dark Side of The Moon exhibition by Dobiesław Gała in Espace 22 gallery in Monaco.
Instagram: @ninaijomone
KASIA KOWALSKA
Future Past, 2021-ongoing
Alina and Jan were my maternal grandparents. This photomontage forms part of an ongoing project in which I reflect on correlations between memory, history of photographic practice and the family archive. The photomontage is made of photographs from my family's archive positioned on a fragment of my mother’s table cloth.
Photography has both enabled the preservation and the substitution of memories through a constructed visual narrative, which can be simultaneously truthful and fictitious. I find this characteristic to be especially complex in relation to family photographs because of the role they play in constructing one’s own identity in an age dominated by the image. As an immigrant, I find the power of family photographs totemic; they are both originators and repositories of complex emotions.
KASIA KOWALSKA (b.1976) is a Polish-born photographic artist living and working in London. Her work involves digital and analogue photography, moving image and installation. In her recent practice she reflects on a subjective experience relating to the female figure, feminist art theory, gender performativity, photographic archives, and our personal and collective relationship with the natural world. She has a BA in Photography from London Metropolitan University. She is Association of Photographers Student Awards winner and multiple finalist and a British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain winner.
Website: kasiakowalska.photography
Instagram: @kasia_kowalska_photography
THERRY MALTAURO
Family Migration, 2023
The journey of my family's migration as seen through generations, beginning with my great-grandfather's departure from Italy to Brazil.
1940 - my grandparents with their eldest daughters, who became nuns - a testament to the beginnings of our family’s journey to Brazil.
1958 - my grandparents celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in their new Brazilian homeland.
1969 - my parents and me, marking another chapter in our family's immigrant narrative.
This legacy reverberates in my own story as an Italian citizen born in Brazil, now living in Europe. My return to Europe as an immigrant instils in me a sense of obligation to mark this homecoming with gaining new perspectives on the diversity of our cultures and their histories. I see this new chapter as a testament to the resilience and determination of the past generations, guiding me towards a future enriched by the fusion of my heritage and the new old world around me.
By pixelating the images of my family, I seek to demonstrate the fragmentation and dispersal of my family across the globe and across different cultures, as well as the fragmentation of memory over time.
THERRY MALTAURO (b.1968) is an Italian-Brazilian photographer living and working in London, specialising in maternity and newborn photography. She sees photography as a gateway to preserving memories, developing insights, and interpreting unique captured moments. She has a BA in Photography from London Metropolitan University. She took part in Aldgate in Winter festival showcasing photographic portraits of local community leaders in Local Heroes in 2022.
Website: www.therrymaltauro.com
Instagram: @therry_maltauro
HEATHER MCDONOUGH
Amish Dolls, 2024
As an only child of an only child, I have chosen two images that suspend my grandmother in her early twenties and my mother at seventeen. Both photographs were made in a portrait studio. My portrait is a response to theirs, to the years of preening and make up, projecting an image. As a nod to the artifice of portraiture, I fashioned a cardboard collar to dress up in.
The title refers to the heritage of my great grandmother, a direct descendant of Hans Herr, the founder of the Amish community in Pennsylvania. We are not Amish, but my great grandmother a Mennonite, a traditional and observant order, and memories of the restrictive practices my mother observed growing up made her desperate to leave the guilt-ridden chain of family duty. The interventions within the photographs gently urge the viewer to look beyond the surface and imagine the layers that make up each woman.
HEATHER MCDONOUGH (b. 1962) is an artist and educator born in the United States and now living in London. She explores photography through installation, moving image and bookmaking. Mortality and memory form the basis of her work and she utilises a mix of camera-less process, analogue and digital formats to create sequences. She has BA in Graphic Design from Middlesex University, BA in Photography from London Metropolitan University and MA in Fine Art from Wimbledon School of Art. She has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery and at Les Rencontres d’Arles among others. She is a British Journal of Photography Portrait of Britain winner. She recently featured in At Home in Hackney exhibition at the Hackney Museum. She is a lecturer in Photography at London Metropolitan University.
Website: www.heathermcdonough.com
Instagram: @hevphoto @urbanlens3
ANGELA MORENO
You Will Be As Us, 2023-ongoing
You Will Be As Us is an ongoing project that uses my own family photographic archives in an attempt to re-negotiate my own identity and its intersection with a greater collective sense of being.
My practice highlights the intersection of traditional and modern techniques in preserving and interpreting familial memory. Looking into the past through cyanotype printing, I explore the sort of immortality that is only achieved through ancestry; a cyclic, never ending and ever changing passing down of genetic and collective memory. Through the process of manipulation and repetitive reproduction of the ‘original’ images found in the family album, the negative becomes a photograph that - through scanning - becomes digital, and again becomes a physical print. The photographs repeat the cycle from their tangible to the intangible state, and return to the material until I achieve a sense of ownership of the images, and thus become myself an active contributor to the family narrative; delving into the layers of my lineage; seeking to co-create my place within it.
ANGELA MORENO (b.1996) is a London-based Spanish visual communicator and educator. She considers the photographic process as a means for decoding herself and others. Through her practice she seeks the space where the physicality of analogue methods and the intangibility of the psyche meet and interact. Taking a special interest in the subjects of memory, perception, ancestry, and identity, the frame serves her as her own version of a journal where she reflects on ontological intricacies through self-analysis.
Email: angela@angelamoreno.co.uk
Instagram: @_angemoreno
DILYANA TANKOVA
Womanhood un:Veiled, 2023
Womanhood, a journey through life's stages from first breath to last, is a marvel. Freedom intertwined with constraint, bearing life's gift and love's boundlessness. The mother-daughter-grandmother cycle mirrors the dandelion's bloom and the phases of the Moon; Childhood, Maidenhood, Motherhood, Crone Stage - each a tapestry of wonder.
Motherhood brings transformation, from self to selflessness, navigating childbirth's labyrinth and maternal responsibility. My journey into motherhood, fraught with loss, found solace in my youngest daughter's arrival. This portrait celebrates life's complexity, gratitude mingled with sorrow. My eldest daughter's portrait celebrates Maidenhood; a time of self-discovery and creative exploration. My mother's portrait embodies the Crone Stage; a life rich with experiences, resilience and wisdom earned through time.
This triptych seeks to honour the depth and breadth of womanhood, weaving together the threads of past, present and future - a testament to women’s enduring strength. Drawing from my own experiences and those of the women who came before me, I delve into the layers of identity,
navigating the delicate balance between freedom and constraint, strength and vulnerability. Each image is imbued with the echoes of the past and the hopes for the future, capturing the essence of womanhood in all its richness and nuance.
DILYANA TANKOVA (b.1987) is a Bulgarian-born photographer and mixed media artist, currently living in London. Her practice encompasses research into the connections between folklore, memory and belonging, probing the intricate relationships between individuals and their natural surroundings. She is studying for a BA in Photography at London Metropolitan University.
Website: www.dilyanatankova.com
Instagram: @dilyanatankova
Email: info@dilyanatankova.com
FIONA YARON-FIELD
Suspended States, 2019
From the late 1980s, I turned the camera in the direction of my own intimate and private world. I started to discover how photography could facilitate, like therapy, a process of self-investigation. While this brings me in touch with private and personal matters it also intersects with the wider social concerns for women. In Suspended States I turn the camera towards the people I love in an attempt to probe into these deep and subtle relationships not to affirm the already known. I am dwelling in this suspended state between mothers and daughters, daughters and mothers, of leaving and being left.
FIONA YARON-FIELD is a London based photographer and psychotherapist. Her photographic practice combines image and text, her subjects are intimate and familiar, her approach is collaborative. Through deeply personal material she aims to comment and reflect on wider social and cultural issues. Fiona has participated in symposiums, publications and international exhibitions. She is the founding partner of Uncertain States and the author of Up Close: A Mother’s View (Bunker Hill Publishing, 2008), portraying her relationship with her daughter Ophir who has Down's Syndrome.
Email: fyaronfield@gmail.com
Website: www.fionayaronfield.co.uk