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Writer's pictureSandra Higgins

EVENT : Sandra's Salon - Being an Artist, being a Photographer (panel discussion)


Wed 6 April 2022 - 8pm to 10pm

at The Drawing Rooms in Bath (see map)


£10 / £5 for TDR Members, including one complimentary cocktail curated specially for the event.

This 'Sandra's Salon' is free for students, though no comp. cocktail included, sorry!



'Am I an Artist or Photographer?' is an ongoing question for creatives who use photography as their primary medium. With a view to listening to the voices of the future, Sandra has invited a trio of photography students to share their thoughts with us, for an informal panel discussion.


Moderated by professional Photojournalist Stephen F Evans, our panel members are Jessica Angwin, Josh Empson and Poppy Winter, all currently studying photography at Bath Spa University. We will briefly introduce you to each speaker's work, and Stephen will lead the discussion, working around themes approached through the medium of photography.


Audience participation is warmly encouraged as per salon tradition, and there will be plenty of time to continue the conversation after the panel has rounded up their discussion.


Jessica Angwin


My practice consists of camera-less photography utilising alternative processes. I have a fascination for the fundamental elements of photography: light, time, subject and technology. Subconsciously I am also drawn to nature and the purity of it, my work is to repurpose the subjects in a different way that is timeless. Locations and surroundings are very important to what I do. What you see is what could be, what is and what was. The truest form at the moment that is captured on the print, fixed on to the page. My work has come into existence and developed as the subjects evolved with the exposure of light and the times.

Coming from a mixed media background, my photography illuminates my experimental drive. As a result, I'm used to using a variety of approaches with mediums to a topic, allowing me to explore new possibilities and adapt to changing circumstances.




Josh Empson

Insta: @joshempsonn


Josh is a documentary and fine art photographer based in Somerset and the Cotswolds. His work focuses on the idea using photography as a medium of therapy as well as the experience making images. Josh relies heavily on the use of analogue photography as well as the black and white darkroom to further his knowledge of the photographic narrative and often embark on projects that have a purposeful outcome and explores the idea of using photography to cope with bigger personal issues.

After this passing of his Mum photography became a form of therapy for Josh and rural Psychogeography was something that became present in his image making. Lush and ancient forests became a focus in Josh’s practise and through the use of large format cameras, Josh was able to explore the areas where he escaped and processed his thoughts with great observation into the details of the landscape.




Poppy Winter


Poppy Winter is an experimental photographer from the Isle of Wight, currently based in Bath. Her practice relies heavily on the use of archival material to explore the universal memories and connections we all have. The use of alternative processes to print onto different materials has also held an important role in her developing practice, allowing physical adaptations of pre-existing imagery to be shown to a new audience.


Poppy's love for rediscovering and reviving found photographs, stems from the connections she's made with these materials growing up. Through using this style of practice she is able to use photography as a tool of communication to examine the traces left behind and what has connected us all throughout time.



About the moderator : Stephen F. Evans MA


Stephen started his career in 2003 working as a freelance photographic assistant for Future Publishing, Mandy Reynaulds BIPP and Jonathan Fisher.


Over the following decade he would work in other industries whilst making commercial work and portraiture.


In 2014 he was accepted for undergraduate studies in Photojournalism. He graduated in 2017 from Swansea College of Arts with a 1st class honours degree.


Whilst engaging with his studies Stephen found himself drawn to socio-economic and political subjects. Against the backdrop of Brexit his work “Article 50” engaged with the role of the media in representation of UKIP and their policies.


His work “Operational Realism” was exhibited as part of the group show “Order of the Real” at The Copeland Gallery in Peckham, London UK. This body of work explores the notion of a ‘real representation of a simulation’ with the intention of misleading or misdirecting the viewer through its imagery of simulated combat.


Stephen continued his postgraduate studies at The University of the West of England and graduated in January 2019 achieving a Merit at MA Photography. His work was exhibited as part of a group show “Foundations” at the Martin Parr Foundation in 2018. During these studies he visited France to work with the charity Care4Calais working closely with the charity to document the daily living conditions of refugees on the edge of Europe.


He continues his photographic practice as a photojournalist and a commercial photographer in the South-West of England. 

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