Polly Penrose

Polly Penrose is a British photographic artist best known for her striking and psychologically charged self-portraits that explore the relationship between the body, space, identity, and emotional experience. Working primarily with photography, Penrose has spent more than two decades developing an intensely personal visual language in which her own body becomes both subject and sculptural material. Her images, often created using a self-timer or remote shutter release, place her nude form within domestic interiors, architectural settings, and landscapes where she twists, folds, balances, and obscures herself in unexpected ways. Through these carefully improvised compositions, Penrose examines vulnerability, control, transformation, and the tension between physical presence and emotional states.

Penrose studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Arts in London before initially working in fashion styling and later assisting the acclaimed fashion photographer Tim Walker. Although she had always taken photographs, her artistic practice became more focused after winning a London Photographic Association competition in 2008. This recognition encouraged her to pursue photography professionally and to deepen her ongoing exploration of self-portraiture.

Her best-known body of work, A Body of Work, was developed over a period of seven years and established many of the themes that continue to define her practice. The series functions as a visual diary, documenting changes in her body and emotional life through experiences including relationships, pregnancy, motherhood, grief, and ageing. Rather than presenting the nude body in a traditionally idealised or eroticised manner, Penrose uses physical contortion and spatial interaction to create images that are simultaneously humorous, uncomfortable, vulnerable, and powerful. She has described the process as “hammering my body into the landscape,” emphasising the physical intensity and spontaneity of her work.

A defining feature of Penrose’s photography is the obscuring or removal of her face, which shifts attention away from individual identity and towards gesture, form, and bodily expression. In many works, the body appears almost sculptural, merging with furniture, fabrics, walls, or everyday objects. This transformation challenges conventional representations of femininity and invites viewers to consider the body as an expressive and mutable material rather than a fixed image.

Penrose has exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions. Her solo exhibitions include A Body of Work in London, 10 Seconds at Hoxton Gallery, and Self Obscured at Benrubi Gallery in New York. Her work has also appeared in exhibitions in Berlin, Sydney, and New York, and has been featured by publications including The Guardian, Dazed, The British Journal of Photography, Artnet, and Huffington Post.

Now based in Somerset, Penrose continues to produce self-portrait photography that combines performance, sculpture, and psychological introspection. Her work occupies a distinctive place within contemporary photography, expanding the possibilities of self-portraiture through its blend of physical experimentation, emotional candour, and visual wit.