An evening with Laura Pannack

About

In partnership with MMU, Redeye presents a series of photographic talks from some of the UK's leading photographic artists. On 1 February 2017, Laura Pannack joins us to talk about her life and work, and her unique approach to social documentary and portraiture.

Laura Pannack
'Laura’s remarkable ability to build trust and respect with her subjects allows her to express a gritty vulnerability that is as sincere as it is elusive to capture.' – Terry O’Neill, photographer

Laura Pannack is a London-based photographer whose work focusses on social documentary and portraiture, and seeks to explore the complex relationship between subject and photographer.

Laura is driven by research-led, self-initiated projects that push her both as an artist and as an individual. She needs to question what she doesn’t understand and access worlds closed off to her. She is drawn to adventure, and wants to roam and play with the limitations and dynamics of photography as an art and as act.

Laura shoots largely on analogue film allowing the process to be organic rather than being predefined by fixed ideas, thus removing additional pressure on the sitter. She tries to understand the lives of those she captures and to present them creatively. She is a firm believer that time, trust and understanding is the key to portraying subjects truthfully, and therefore many of her projects develop over several years.

This particular approach allows a genuine connection to develop between sitter and photographer, which in turn elucidates the intimacy of these very human exchanges. Her images aim to suggest the shared ideas and experiences that are entwined in each frame that she shoots.