EDWARD THOMPSON /
Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Edward Thompson (B. 1980, Wales) is a British documentary photographer. His photographic work has focused on various subjects over the years covering environmental issues, socio-political movements, subcultures, everyday life and the consequences of war.
He had a life changing experience with an early apprenticeship with the Russian photographer Sergey Chilikov, whom he met at the Arles Photography Festival in 2001. That summer Ed stayed with Sergey in Paris and learnt the value of shooting everyday life, eating fried fat and drinking red wine. Sergeys friend Gueorgui Pinkhassov told him how photographing the everyday can allow you to touch at something great. And it did.
Since then his documentary photo-essays have been published in international magazines including National Geographic Magazine, Newsweek Japan, Greenpeace Magazine, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, BBC, CNN and The Sunday Times Magazine. His work has been exhibited at The Saatchi Gallery, Christies, Somerset House and Four Corners Gallery (London) and shown as part of photography festivals in Arles (France), Tampere (Finland), Zingst (Germany) & London (U.K)
He has lectured on photography at the V&A Museum, The Photographers Gallery, The Bishopsgate Institute, L.C.C, The University of Falmouth, The University of Northampton and at the University of East London. He’s spoken regularly about photography on television, radio and online, including on Al Jazeera News and the BBC World Service.
In 2023 he self-published the photography book When In The Lone Star State. In 2022 he self-published the photography book In-A-Gadda-Da-England. In 2016 he published The Unseen: An Atlas of Infrared Plates with Schilt Publishing. In 2012 he self-published Occupy London. You can see these photo books in the collections and archives of the National Art Library in the V&A Museum, The Bishopsgate Institute, The Museum of London, The British Library and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. If you run an archive / collection, and think Ed’s work would be relevant, please get in touch.
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A new photography show....
In the spring of 2023 Ed launched a new Youtube photography show called Pictures On My Mind. Please click here to subscribe!
Post-Graduate Course
If you’d like to get taught photography & film by Ed he is currently leading a one year part-time post-graduate course at The Margate School.
The next cohort starts October 2024. More Information and how to apply is here:
https://www.themargateschool.com/the-still-and-moving-image
Lectures & Interviews
In June 2024 Ed’s new photo book ‘Welcome To Dungeness’ was featured on Peta-Pixel and on the RIBA Journal.
In January 2024 Ed’s colour infrared film photography that is exhibited in The Way Of All Flesh show at the Saatchi Gallery, London (curated by Delphian Gallery) was featured on PetaPixel.
In 2023 Ed was interviewed by Huck Magazine about his new photo book When In The Lone Star State.
In 2022 Ed was interviewed by The British Journal of Photography and PetaPixel about his coming photo book about The Texas Hill Country. Work from this coming book was also published by The Guardian.
In 2021 Ed was interviewed by Flossie Skelton for Another Magazine. He talked about his new book In-A-Gadda-Da-England.
In 2020 Ed spoke to the Idle Hand Society Podcast about his (then crowdfunding) book In-A-Gadda-Da-England.
In 2019 Ed was interviewed by Another Magazine in response to his Sony World Photo Award winning series In the Garden of England.
In 2018 Ed was interview by Saatchi Art and featured on their website as ‘One to Watch’.
In 2017 Ed was interviewed by LSE students from the International Relations Department's BSc International Relations programme on the subject of Compassion Fatigue.
2016
In Spring 2016 Ed took part in an interview for the Small Voice Podcast . In the summer of 2016 Ed was interviewed for Afternyne Magazine about his book The Unseen.
2015
In March 2015 Ed was interviewed about photographic manipulation and ethics in photojournalism live on Newshour on the BBC World Service. From 2015-2016 he taught a year long module on Documentary Photography at the University of East London.
2014
In December 2014 Ed Thompson spoke about his work with Occupy at the V&A Museum (London) as part of a lecture on civil disobedience. In November 2014 he became an Associate Lecturer at The London College of Communication. In Spring 2014 he worked as a visiting Lecturer at The University of Bedfordshire where he lectured on his own work, on professional practice and gave tutorials. In February 2014 he was a guest lecturer at Falmouth University, he lectured on his own work and gave tutorials.
2013
In June 2013 he gave an interview for Al Jazeera English as part of their Listening Post program, he spoke about the World Press Photo Awards and Photographic Manipulation. In the Winter of 2013 Ed lectured at Four Corners Gallery on 'Photographing Protest'. He discussed his involvement with the Occupy movement and The English Defence League. In the spring of 2013 he gave a talk at the Podium Lecture Theate of the London College of Communication on Self-Publishing and Crowd-Funding.
2012
In October 2012 he spoke about his Occupy London series at the Brighton Photo Biennale and in November 2012 he gave a lecture on his Occupy London series at the Bishopsgate Institute, as part of Radical London, an initiative by Photomonth. In 2012 he spoke on the Falmouth BA Degrees Emerging Markets Panel Discussion at the Foto8 Gallery, London. In November 2012 he wrote an article for The World Photography Organisation on photographing Occupy.
2010
In 2010/11 he devised a five month educational photography program via the Turner Contemporary Gallery, Margate. In 2010 he gave one to one portfolio reviews and professional practice advice for the University of the Arts London's Futurising event.
Ed (far left) in the 2007 Masters Degree in Photojournalism & Documentary Photography class at The London College of Communication. Photo credit Tom Hunter.
Exhibition
GROUP SHOWS
2024 - Affordable Art Fair. Battersea, London. Showing with Kingsford Gallery.
2024 - Saatchi Gallery, London. The Way Of All Flesh group show.
2022 - Consequences: Art & Activism in the Nuclear Age. Out of the Blue Drill Hall. Edinburgh, Scotland. Curated by The Peace Cranes Project.
2020 - Sony World Photo Award. Selected photographs from In The Garden of England. Willy Brandt Haus, Berlin. Germany.
2019 - Sony World Photo Award. Selected photographs from In The Garden of England. Somerset House, London.
2017 - MACULA - Centro Internazionale di Cultura Fotografica (Italy)
2016 - FixPhoto with Laura Noble Gallery, London (U.K). The Unseen.
2014 - Somerset House, London. Sony World Photo Award. England till I Die.
2013 - Christies, London. The Unseen Project. Pluckley (2011).
2013 - The Rise of Populism. Group Exhibition. Melkweg Gallery, Amsterdam. Holland.
2013 - Horizonte Zingst Photo Festival, Germany. 'The Village' from The Unseen Project.
2012 - Photomonth: Radical London Bishopsgate Institute, London. Occupy London photographs.
2012 - Occupy! I.C.P Occupies Governors Island, New York. Occupy London photographs.
2012 – Rise of Populism group exhibition with Fotodok. Town Hall Square, Utrecht. Holland.
2011 – Christies, London. Multiplied Art Fair. Re-Home Series.
2011 – Margate Photo Festival. Transition Town Series.
2010 – Magnum Photos/Ideastap Photographic Award. Re-Home Series.
2010 – Photomonth - East London Photo Festival. Re-Home Series.
2010 – Margate Photo-Festival - Projection - Anarcho-Dandies.
2009 – Turner Contemporary Open, Margate, UK. Living Historians Series.
2009 – National Union of Journalists. Photography Matters Exhibition.
2008 – Backlight 08. Tampere, Finland. Triennial showcasing 50 international photographers.
2008 – The Print Space, Shoreditch. Images from the Texas Hill Country series
2007 – The London College of Communication. The Texas Hill Country series.
2005 – OXO Tower Gallery, London. Seeds of Change Observer Photography exhibition.
2005 – Margate Rocks. Thanet Contemporary Arts Festival .
2003 – Les Rencontres d'Arles, France – TEC/TECE via L'ecole Nationale de la Photographie exposition.
2003 – Truman Brewery - London, England - K.I.A.D Degree Show.
2002 – Les Rencontres d'Arles, France. – TEC/TECE via L'ecole Nationale de la Photographie exposition.
SOLO SHOWS
2017 - Lilford Gallery, Canterbury, Kent. (U.K). The Unseen.
2015 - Four Corners Gallery, London (U.K). The Unseen.
2014 - The Royal Engineers Museum, Kent (U.K). The Unseen: The Red Forest.
Publication
National Geographic Magazine
Newsweek (Japan & International)
The Guardian
The Guardian Weekend Magazine
The Eyes Magazine
Creative Review
Another Magazine
HUCK
Professional Photographer (U.K)
The Sunday Times Magazine
The Sunday Times Newspaper
The Telegraph Magazine
The Independent New Review
The i Newspaper
CNN
MSNBC
ARTE TV (Europe)
TV5MONDE (France)
BBC
Al Jazeera News
Huffington Post
VICE
Harper’s Magazine (USA)
Photo District News
GUP (Holland)
The Big Issue
Falter (Austria)
L'espresso Magazine (Italy)
D Repubblica (Italy)
Greenpeace Magazine (Holland)
Der Freitag (Germany)
IL Magazine (Italy)
A Magazine curated by (Belgium)
British Journal of Photography
Digital Photographer
Kamera-Lehti (Finland)
JPG Magazine
