Event overview
Jonny Briggs discusses his photography work that ruptures family archives to interrogate masculinity, queerness, and constraint.
The MA Photography Practice is delighted to welcome artist and University of the Arts London lecturer Jonny Briggs for an artist talk exploring his radical approach to expanded photographic practice.
Briggs creates work that physically challange the boundaries between past and present, self and family, constraint and freedom. Through his distinctive photo-sculpture techniques, he bursts through archival family photographs with his own body—ears, fingers, eyes breaking through prints of parents and grandparents—creating visceral collisions between generations. His recent Fitting In series transforms men's formal leather dress shoes into absurdist sculptures with elongated tips bent into impossible angles, critiquing rigid masculinity while reclaiming authorship over his own narrative.
Working at the intersection of photography, sculpture, and performance, Briggs voices what he calls his "silenced queer history," deconstructing patriarchal frameworks while questioning the boundaries between child and adult, self and other, nature and culture. His use of dazzle camouflage speaks to the queer experience of learning to hide for safety, while simultaneously celebrating the act of revelation. As he states: "The frame is synonymous with my feelings of restriction within societal expectations surrounding my gender and sexuality. The dazzle a defence mechanism that speaks to my queer experience of learning to hide."
Recent major exhibitions include solo presentations at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery London, Ncontemporary Milan, and Burgh House and Hampstead Museum. His work is currently on display at Arter Museum Istanbul and was recently featured at the V&A Wedgwood Collection as part of a GRAIN commission exploring ceramics, fracture, and the oral significance of historical collections. Briggs is represented by Ncontemporary (Milan/Venice) and Kristin Hjellegjerde (London, Berlin, Palm Beach).
This talk offers a unique opportunity to engage with an artist who treats photography not as documentation but as material for physical intervention—cutting, folding, penetrating, and reconstructing images to create what psychoanalyst Darian Leader describes as "an art of elasticity and emancipation, to both delight and instruct."
Who is speaking: Jonny Briggs, artist and lecturer at University of the Arts London
Who is invited: Open to everyone
Booking: Free event, no booking required
Discover more about Jonny Briggs' work at http://www.jonnybriggs.com or follow @jonnybriggs176 on Instagram.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 2026 | 5:00pm - 6:30pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
