In her work, the photographer Hannah Starkey allows her female subjects to be themselves, without having to subscribe to ideals of beauty imposed on them by "the consumer gaze." As The Hepworth Wakefield gallery presents the first major survey exhibition of Starkey’s work, she speaks to Danielle Radojcin about the place of photography in today's culture, fighting against the effects of unrealistic beauty ideals and porn, and how she collaborates with the women she photographs.
In this episode, host Danielle Radojcin travels to East London to meet Hannah Starkey, the British photographer. Since she first came to prominence in the 90s, Starkey has built up an impressive body of work focusing on women and how they are represented. Born in Belfast in 1971, she studied photography and film at Edinburgh’s Napier University in the 90s and went on to study photography at the Royal College of Art in London. Today, her work can be found in major collections including the Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum and In 2019 she was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.
From autumn 2022 until the end of April 2023, the Hepworth Wakefield gallery in West Yorkshire presents the first major survey exhibition of Starkey’s work.
In this episode, Radojcin and Starkey discuss Starkey's process and how she works with her subjects; what she calls “the consumer gaze” and the tyranny of social media, porn and the fashion and beauty industries on young women; and the power of photography as a tool for communication.
Episode photo: Jeff Moore