Sarah Pickering: Artist Talk

Artist Sarah Pickering joins us for a talk on her photographic practice, sharing images from many of her early series before introducing her latest work. Through her image making Sarah examines mediated versions of reality, scrutinising issues raised by such subjects as fakes, tests, hierarchy, class, the paranormal, explosions, photography, and gunfire. Sarah's early projects explore disaster preparedness and saw her spend time in testing sites for the Police and Fire Brigade, as well as pyrotechnic manufacturers testing grounds, as they reenact scenarios of tragedies, public disturbances and acts of terrorism. Through her artistic documentary approach, questions around fact, fiction and the veracity of photographic images converge to great effect. Sarah will discuss her early series - Public Order (2002-2004), Explosion (2004-2009), Fire Scene (2007), and Incident (2008). This event has been programmed to coincide with the MPF exhibition, Dark Tales: British Documentary Photography and the Gothic, with a selection of Sarah's images from Incident (2008), included in the show. In addition to these works, Sarah will introduce her newest series, Vanishing Act, which explores ideas around deception and magic. The talk will be followed by questions from the floor.