Amanda graduated from London College of Communication in 2000. She has since worked on a range of commissions, residencies and projects. Her work has been exhibited in the UK and in Europe, and is held in a number of collections including at the V&A. She now lives and works in Bristol.
Amanda joined the MA Photography at LCC after teaching and working as a photographer for 15 years. She explains: “My photography is about revealing the hidden or unexpected stories of the people and places I encounter and the most successful of these projects is where I have a personal connection with the place, or the people, or both.”
Her winning work, ‘Garden Stories, Hidden Labours’, originated from a passion for gardening which led Amanda to volunteer at Tyntesfield, a National Trust property just outside Bristol. “I worked in the gardens for about a year, and then later I went back to take photographs. Initially I wanted to explore the ‘behind the scenes’ hard work of the gardeners, and do this by making a series of portraits. Over the months that I was photographing at Tyntesfield, I became aware that, more than the portraits, it was the series of ‘still lives’ that I was also making that spoke most eloquently of the hidden work of the gardeners.”
On achieving First Place in the awards’ Still Life section, Amanda explained: “I was stunned when I got the call to say I was a finalist. This is the first year I have entered any competitions in all the years I have been taking photos, so to win is amazing. It is also important to me that this award recognises a ‘body of work’, and values the familiarity with a subject that can only be achieved over many months of work and engagement.”