Garry Clarkson is an associate photographer for the international photo agency, Eyevine, London and Tutor at The Open College of the Arts/Open University. His work combines elements of his own journalistic archive drawn from over 30 years of news reporting alongside a more ‘disruptive’ visual strategy influenced by art movements such as Dada, formed during the First World War as a negative reaction to the horrors and folly of conflict.
It was as a newspaper photographer, that Clarkson began his work, with coverage of the 1989 book burning in his home city of Bradford, following the publication of Salman Rushdie's controversial book The Satanic Verses. The pictures were published widely, including The Independent, Sunday Telegraph, New Statesman/Society, New Internationalist and Channel 4 Television as well as 1989 'Pictures of the Year' in The Guardian newspaper. Garry studied film at the University of Westminster (1994) and an MA in Documentary Photography from the University of Wales, Newport (2005), after which he worked on editorial and exhibition projects, notably: Libération (France), Saturday Times Magazine (UK), and Dominical (Spain).
In 2003, Garry began a photographic survey of the burgeoning father’s rights movement in the UK, culminating in several published photo stories and exhibitions; notably, La Repubblica 'D' magazine (Italy) and Time magazine (UK). The subsequent impact of this included documentary photographs, informing public policy; such as the publication of A Blueprint for Family Law by Matt O’Connor, Gary Burch and Barrister Michael Cox presented to the UK government in 2006.
In 2008 Garry was selected as one of 70 participants of 900 photographers from 42 countries to take part in the Descubrimientos (Discoveries) platform for the promotion and dissemination of works by ‘emerging international photographers’. This forum, at the Community of Madrid’s Council of Culture, was part of Photo España photography festival and Garry was one of the 5 eventual finalists interviewed in a special supplement in the Spanish newspaper El País.
Since 2018, works on major international thematic exhibitions and education workshops alongside film production work.
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Exhibitions & Conferences
2019 Fieldworks: dialogues in Psychogeography Return to Wigan Pier. Market Gallery Huddersfield Temporary Contemporary.
2019 Empire of Memory Post-War Remembering and the Archive. Market Gallery Huddersfield Temporary Contemporary.
2018 Pictures of War: The Still Image in Conflict since 1945. Manchester Metropolitain University. Presentation: Event, Aftermath, Archive.
2012 100 Years of Photography. University of Wales, Newport Group Show.
2010 Photo-month Krakow, Poland. British Photography.
2008 Photo España, ‘Descubrimientos’ Complejo El Águila, Ramírez de Prado, Madrid.
2005 Ffotogallery, Penarth, Wales. Uncertain Aspects - Newport Group Show.
1987 Bradford Community Arts: New Roads to an Old Town Photos & Oral History.
Research & Writing
2020 Powell, A & Pittwood, L (2019) Looking is Contingent on the Apparatus of Viewing, Temporary Contemporary.
2019 Documentary evidence and artistic expression. Clarkson, G., disruptive strategies for the representation of familial memories of WW1. OCA/Medium.
2018 Pandaemonium: Malik, K., 1 May 2018 Photos for Keenan Malik's on-line commentary focusing on contemporary theories of multiculturalism, pluralism and race.
2017 Story Behind the Picture 1: Editorial Photos and Chance. OCA/Medium.
2006 /seconds - Issue 02: 03/2006. ISSN 1751-4134. Online publishing project initiated by Derek Horton, Peter Lewis, and Graham Hibbert.
Broadcast & Film
2023 Dig! Documentary Pilot: Notes from the Leeds Jazz Underground.
1993 Worstedopolis Documentary Pilot for Channel 4 ‘Britain at Work’ series.
1990 Mentorn Films / Channel Four Television A Book of Law: A Book of Life, Stills.
Grants & Awards
2012 13th Bradford Fellowship. National Media Museum. Shortlisted.
2012 7th Annual Black & White Spider Awards. Nomination.
2009 4th Annual Black & White Spider Awards. Nomination.
1993 University of Westminster Inauguration Bursary Worstedopolis Documentary Film.
1991 Thomas Wall Trust Bursary. Towards Film Production Development.
1989 Yorkshire Arts Development Award: Regeneration Game Photography Project.
1986 Child Poverty Action Group Divided Britain. Award and Calendar Publication.