| Code | DS/UK/474 |
| Person Name | Spence; Jo (15 June 1934-24 June 1992); Photographer, Artist, Writer |
| Dates | 15 June 1934-24 June 1992 |
| Dates and Places | 1934 Born in London
1950 Secretarial College
1981 Theory and Practice of Photography at Polytechnic of Central London |
| History | Jo Spence was a writer, photo therapist and cultural worker. From 1967-1974 she ran a successful portrait and wedding studio in London.
After becoming more politicised she abandoned commercial work and became a documentary , then agitprop photographer, beginning to work with others (principally Terry Dennett) on a collaborative or cooperative basis. In 1974 she set up Photography Workshop which later combined its programme with the Half Moon Gallery to form the Half Moon Photography Workshop which published the innovative photographic magazine 'Camerawork'.
Jo also helped form the Hackney Flashers Collective, a socialist feminist documentary group working on issues of wages, class and childcare in the inner city. To support herself financially she worked as a secretary in the Education Department of the British Film Institute. In 1979 she enrolled at the Polytechnic of Central London on a full time degree course where she trained with photo theorist Victor Burgin.
Her degree changed her previous ways of working and thinking about photography, she no longer continued in the reporter/voyeur of traditional photographic practice.
In 1982 she was diagnosed with cancer. From this time her work focused on identity and subjectivity, mental and physical health. She also trained as an art therapist, and started to integrate this with her photographic knowledge. Jo Spence died in 1992. |
| Activity | 1950 Secretarial College
1981 Theory and Practice of Photography at Polytechnic of Central London
Commercial Photographer
Co-founder of Photography Workshop, 1974 with Terry Dennet
Collaborator with Half Moon Gallery in Half Moon Photography Project [dates], and publishing the magazine, 'Camerawork'
Studied with Victor Burgin, 1981
Co-founder of Hackney Flashers Collective
Worked at Cockpit Gallery [c 1983] after leaving Camerawork
Works:
1973–75: Children’s Rights Workshop; documentary
1979: Beyond The Family Album
1980: Fairy Tales and Photography, BA thesis, republished 2020
1980–82: Remodelling Photo History
1980–82: The Polysnappers
1982–86: The Picture of Health?
1982: Cancer Shock, Photonovel
Photo therapy projects
1988–89: Narratives of Dis-ease: Ritualised Procedures, produced with psychotherapist, Dr Tim Sheard
1989: Libido Uprising, photo therapy works produced with Rosy Martin and Spence’s partner David Roberts
1990: Cultural Sniperproduced by Spence and David Roberts
1990: Jo Spence in collaboration with Terry Dennett: Collaborative works; Australian tour of Melbourne, Victorian Centre for Photography at the George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne Sept. 27-Oct. 11; Sydney, Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, Oct. 17-Nov. 11; Adelaide, Experimental Art Foundation Nov. 22-Dec. 16.
1991–92: The Crisis Project: Scenes of the Crime. Unfinished collaboration with Terry Dennett
1991–2: The Final Project
1991–92: Metamorphosis
1992: Hospice Diaries
|
| Relationships | Terry Dennet, Friend, Collaborator, c 1974-1992
David Roberts, Partner, Collaborator, c 1992 |
| Source | History and activity have been derived from the archival description of a collection 'Jo Spence, 1934-1992, Jo Spence Collection, 1980s-1992. Women's Art Library Collections, Goldsmiths, University of London. GB 1086 SPENCE' on the Archives Hub website, [https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb1086-spence], (date accessed :14/05/2023) |
Jo Spence interviewed by Val Williams as part of the Oral History of Photography, British Library
Shelf Mark 1: C459/13
Shelf Mark 2: F1643-F1649 |
| Stevie Bezencenet and Philip Richard D. Corrigan, Photographic Practices: Towards a Different Image, Comedia Series (London: Comedia, 1986). |
| Related Record(s) | DS/UK/479 |
| DS/UK/484 |