Alison Craighead's collaborative research practicing as an artist with Jon Thomson comes from a fascination they share in how global communications networks are transforming the way we all perceive and understand the world around us. Their research and practice spans online and public art commissions, as well as gallery-based work and often looks at how real time processes and live data transmission can be used as a material or artistic medium.
Professional projects
In the past three years, Alison's work has been featured in solo exhibitions in London, Germany, Brussels and Scotland. Her group projects include a commission by Photoworks for the Brighton Photobiennial (2012); an exhibition for the Centre International d'Art Contemporain de Montreal (2011); an installation for the British Council ('Trust in the Age of Loneliness', 2010); and an exhibit for the Museum of London on the London Wall (2010).
In 2012, she and Jon Thomson were shortlisted for the Samsung Art Prize for their piece 'A Short Film About War'.
Publications and research outputs
Show/Exhibition
(In)Visibility of ViolenceCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2025. (In)Visibility of Violence. In: "(In)Visibility of Violence", Kunsthalle Giessen, Germany, 22 August - 2 November 2025.
BreathingCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2023. Breathing. In: "Breathing", Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany, 30 September 2022- 12 February 2023.
Two plus two make fourCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2023. Two plus two make four. In: "Two Plus Two Makes Four", The Auxiliary, Middlesburgh, United Kingdom, 16 February - 24 March 2023.
No EscapeCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2022. No Escape. In: "No Escape", IMT Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 17 March – 12 May 2022.
Information wants to be free,Craighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2022. Information wants to be free,. In: "Information wants to be Free? : Art and the Internet", ADM Gallery, Singapore, 25 March- 13 May 2022.
To the Edge of TimeCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2021. To the Edge of Time. In: "To the Edge of Time", KU Leuven Libraries, Belgium, 22 October 2021 – 16 January 2022.
Both Sides Of HereCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2021. Both Sides Of Here. In: "Both Sides Of Here", The Courtauld Institute of Art, United Kingdom, 16 June – 16 July 2021.
24/7 A Wake-up Call for our Non Stop WorldCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2019. 24/7 A Wake-up Call for our Non Stop World. In: "24/7 A wakeup call in a nonstop world", Somerset House, London, United Kingdom, 31 October 2019- 23 February 2020.
Learning From Deep TimeCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2019. Learning From Deep Time. In: "Learning From Deep Time", NIRAS, Kastelsedijk, Dessel, Belgium, 29 September 2019.
Here Not HereCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2019. Here Not Here. In: "Here Not Here", UCL Student Centre, United Kingdom, Feb 2019 - ongoing.
The Perfume ShopCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2018. The Perfume Shop. In: "The Perfume Shop", The Ryder Projects, London, United Kingdom, 30 November 2018 - 2 February 2019.
Trace IngredientsCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2018. Trace Ingredients. In: "Trace Ingredients", Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, United Kingdom, 22 September -17 November 2018.
I was Raised on The InternetCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2018. I was Raised on The Internet. In: "I Was Raised on the Internet", MCA Chicago, United States, june 23 -oct 14 2018.
The Academy of SaturnCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2018. The Academy of Saturn. In: "The Academy of Saturn", Cooley Gallery, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, United States, 2/2/18 - 26/4/18.
The Academy of SaturnCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2018. The Academy of Saturn. In: "The Academy of Saturn", Cooley Gallery Portland Oregon, United States, 2/2/18 - 26/4/18.
Life Time - Biological Clocks of the UniverseCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. Life Time - Biological Clocks of the Universe. In: "Life Time - Biological Clocks of the Universe", MU, Eindhoven,, Netherlands, 1 December 2017 - 18 February 2018.
Slow ViolenceCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. Slow Violence. In: "Slow Violence", University of Hertfordshire Arts, United Kingdom, 29 November 2017 - 20 January 2018.
HumansbeingdigitalCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. Humansbeingdigital. In: "Humansbeingdigital", The Lowry, Salford, United Kingdom, 17 November 2017 - 25 February 2018.
Occulture: The Dark ArtsCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. Occulture: The Dark Arts. In: "Occulture: The Dark Arts", City Gallery Wellington, New Zealand, 12 August – 19 November 2017.
The New ObservatoryCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. The New Observatory. In: "The New Observatory", FACT, Liverpool, UK, United Kingdom, 22/06/2017 -02/10/2017.
I Want I Want! Art and TechnologyCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. I Want I Want! Art and Technology. In: "I Want I Want! Art and Technology", Birmingham City Art Gallery,, United Kingdom, 01/04/2017 - 01/10/2017.
Wake me up when it's overCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2017. Wake me up when it's over. In: "Wake me up when it's over", Young Projects Gallery, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA, United States, 27/01/2017 -21/04/2017.
Monsters of the MachineCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Monsters of the Machine. In: "Monsters of the Machine", Laboral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Spain, 18/11/2016 -31/08/2017.
Tecnologies de la violènciaCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Tecnologies de la violència. In: "Tecnologies de la violència", Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona,, Spain, 18/10/2016-08/01/2017.
StuttererCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Stutterer. In: "Stutterer", The Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 7 October 2016 -22 January 2017.
Nuclear Material CultureCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Nuclear Material Culture. In: "IRIS Home Browse IRIS Publication Detail Nuclear Material Culture", Karst, Plymouth, United Kingdom, 27/04/2016 - 28/05/2016.
Party Booby TrapCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Party Booby Trap. In: "Party Booby Trap", Carroll / Fletcher,, United Kingdom, 12/04/2016- 25/05/2016.
Electronic SuperhighwayCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Electronic Superhighway. In: "Electronic Superhighway", Whitechapel Gallery, United Kingdom, 29/01/2016 -05/05/2016.
Real TimeCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2016. Real Time. In: "Real Time", Arts Santa Mònica, Spain, 01/01/2016.
Big Bang DataCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2015. Big Bang Data. In: "Big Bang Data", Somerset House, United Kingdom, 03/12/2015 - 20/03/2016.
Right Here Right NowCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2015. Right Here Right Now. In: "Right Here Right Now", The Lowry, United Kingdom, 14/11/2015 -28/02/2016.
Art in the age of asymmetrical warfareCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2015. Art in the age of asymmetrical warfare. In: "Art in the age of asymmetrical warfare", Witte de With, United Kingdom, 11/09/2015- 03/01/2016.
Data as Culture 3: Data AnthropologiesCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2015. Data as Culture 3: Data Anthropologies. In: "Data as Culture 3: Data Anthropologies", Open Data Institute, United Kingdom, 25/03/2015-20/06/2015.
Maps DNA and SpamCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2014. Maps DNA and Spam. In: "Maps DNA and Spam", Dundee Contemporary Art, United Kingdom, 18/01/2014-16/03/2014.
Mirror NeuronsCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2012. Mirror Neurons. In: "Mirror Neurons", National Glass Centre, Sunderland, United Kingdom, 1st of march 2012 -20th of may 2012.
Cloud SoundsCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2011. Cloud Sounds. In: "Cloud Sounds", Netherlands Media Art Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 19th February - 29th April 2011.
The New Normal (Beacon)Craighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2008. The New Normal (Beacon). In: "The New Normal", Artist Space , NY, United States, april 25 2008 - ongoing currenty 2010.
Short Films about FlyingCraighead, Alison and Thomson, J.. 2007. Short Films about Flying. In: "Short Films about Flying", Laboral Museum, Gijon (Spain), 3/30/2007 - 6/30/2007.
Decorative NewsfeedsCraighead, Alison and Thomson, J.. 2006. Decorative Newsfeeds. In: "Decorative Newsfeeds", Neuberger Museum of Art, State University of New York, 2/12/2006 - 6/25/2006.
Unprepared PianoCraighead, Alison and Thomson, J.. 2006. Unprepared Piano. In: "Unprepared Piano", Mejan Labs, Stockholm, 1/26/2006 - 3/5/2006.
The Story Thomson, Jon and Craighead, Alison. 2016. 'The Story'. In: The Story. The Conway Hall, United Kingdom 19 Feb 2016.
Artist Use of Open DataCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2015. 'Artist Use of Open Data'. In: Open Data Institute Summit. BFI, Southbank, London, United Kingdom 03 Nov 2015.
Building a temporary indexCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2014. 'Building a temporary index'. In: Panning for Atomic Gold. University of Notre Dame London Global Gateway, United Kingdom 17 May 2014.
Recent works (Lecture)Craighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2009. 'Recent works (Lecture)'. In: Impakt. Filmtheater 't Hoogt, Utrecht, Netherlands 15 October 2009.
The Internet of Living ThingsCraighead, Alison and Thomson, Jon. 2018. The Internet of Living Things. In: Omar Kholeif, ed. I Was Raised on the Internet. New York: Prestel Publishing. ISBN 9783791358024
Edited Book
Flat EarthCraighead, Alison; Gilman, Clive; Thomson, Jon and Cook, Sarah, eds. 2001. Flat Earth. Germany: MEWO Kunsthalle and Dundee Contemporary Arts. ISBN 3981627423
