Podcasts by The Messy Truth - Conversations on Photography

Andi Galdi Vinko - On Survival from 2023-12-04T06:43:12

Andi Galdi Vinko is an internationally acclaimed artist working in photography. Her work draws visual analogies between intensely personal and intimate experiences of motherhood and womanhood an...

Sinna Nasseri - On Starting Over from 2023-09-25T05:47:53

Iranian-American photographer Sinna Nasseri describes his ability to catapult viewers into every scene he captures as a "gonzo journalism curiosity." He brings the audience along with him, alway...

Vinca Petersen - On Subversive Joy from 2023-09-11T07:59:35

Since the 1990s, Vinca Petersen's work has remained an authentic voice of European counterculture, providing diaristic windows onto alternative spaces and lifestyles. A multidisciplinary artist ...

Balarama Heller - On Sensation from 2023-08-21T05:30:18

Balarama Heller's practice reimagines archetypal symbols found in the natural world. He explores primal symbols and patterns, both real and imagined, working towards a visual language of preverb...

Sheida Soleimani - On Subversion from 2023-08-07T05:32:41

Sheida Soleimani’s work explores intersections of art and activism. She melds sculpture, performance, film and photography to highlight critical perspectives on events across the Middle East, un...

Alexandra Rose Howland - On Storytelling from 2023-07-03T08:35:12

Alexandra Rose Howland's practice is invested in illustrating the difficult complexities of our existence. Through her work, she seeks to generate a more expansive understanding of how issues ar...

Myriam Boulos - On Liberation from 2023-06-05T06:00:05

Myriam Boulos’s practice is rooted in community and resistance, exploring the complex ways our bodies metabolise trauma, assert resistance, seek pleasure and express layers of identity. During o...

Jacqueline Bates - On Photo Direction from 2023-05-22T05:05:13

Throughout her career, Photo Director Jacqueline Bates has harnessed the power of photography to give visual journalism new dimension. During our conversation, we talk about her new role at the ...

Rhiannon Adam - On Abundance from 2023-05-08T05:00:34

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to photographer and artist Rhiannon Adam. Her work is heavily influenced by her nomadic childhood spent at sea, sailing around the world with her parents. Li...

Steph Wilson - On Experimentation from 2022-12-24T15:10:12

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to London-based photographer Steph Wilson. For Steph, The body is such a vast universe of paradoxes that will never get old. Traversing the space between fin...

Harley Weir - On Process from 2022-12-24T13:16:58

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to London-based photographer Harley Weir. In this episode we discuss how her approach to image making is one rooted in alchemy - creating space for the unexp...

Audrey Blue - On Liberation from 2022-12-04T10:30:37

Gem Fletcher speaks to artist Audrey Blue (nee Gillespie) in the final episode of a three-part series in partnership with Seen Fifteen Gallery. The Troubles Generation - an ongoing curatorial pr...

Gareth McConnell - On Survival from 2022-12-04T09:00:05

Gem Fletcher speaks to photographer Gareth McConnell in the second episode of a three-part series in partnership with Seen Fifteen Gallery. The Troubles Generation - an ongoing curatorial projec...

Martin Seeds - On Conflict from 2022-12-04T08:30:06

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to photographer and educator Martin Seeds as part of a three-part series in partnership with Seen Fifteen Gallery. The Troubles Generation - an ongoing curat...

Tami Aftab - On Starting Out from 2022-10-27T05:00:15

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with photographer Tami Aftab. They dive into The Dog’s In The Car - a powerful and intimate collaboration between Tami Aftab and her father Tony, a...

Zora J Murff - On Liberation from 2022-10-06T09:00:09

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with artist and educator Zora J. Murff. They deep dive into Zora’s latest book True Colors (or, Affirmations in a Crisis), a manual for coming to terms with t...

Jess Dugan - On Strategy from 2022-09-22T05:00:10

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with artist Jess T. Dugan. They discuss what it takes to cultivate and maintain an artistic practice, what Jess learned from their own journey, and how the ma...

Elisa Medde - On Criticism from 2022-09-08T05:42:58

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with editor, writer and curator Elisa Medde. They discuss how an issue of Foam Magazine comes together in addition to a range of issues currently affecting th...

Elle Perez - On Community from 2022-05-12T06:00:53

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist and professor Elle Pérez. Elle generously lets us into their world from the early but formative days as a Bronx punk to the ways in which their art ...

Anastasia Samoylova - On Ecosystems from 2022-04-21T05:38:48

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist Anastasia Samoylova who moves between observational photography, studio practice and installation. By utilizing tools and strategies rela...

Campbell Addy - On Growth from 2022-04-14T05:37:53

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to photographer and director Campbell Addy. They come together to discuss Cambell’s first monograph Feeling Seen published by Prestel. Much has happened since...

Rory Hamovit - On Practice from 2022-04-07T05:07:25

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the artist Rory Hamovit. Rory uses his work as a site to interrogate and explore notions of masculinity, queerness, performance and history. Rory understan...

Karla Hiraldo Voleau - On Performance from 2022-03-24T07:00:29

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the artist Karla Hiraldo Voleau. Karla’s work revolves around identity, vulnerability, love, gender roles and the mechanisms in human relationships. Using ...

Charlotte Cotton - On the Ungraspable from 2022-03-10T06:07:47

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the curator, writer and creative consultant Charlotte Cotton. Charlotte has explored photographic culture for over twenty years and held positions includin...

Ying Ang - On Rage from 2022-01-06T06:03:59

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to photographer and gallery director Ying Ang. Ying’s work is about active and conscious looking. She grapples with political and social issues that often alt...

Efrem Zelony-Mindell - On Curating from 2021-12-16T06:17:02

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to curator, writer and artist Efrem Zelony-Mindell. Efrem embraces new ways of thinking, creating and talking about photography and art. Their work invites us...

Donavon Smallwood - On Starting Out from 2021-12-02T06:00:15

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist Donavon Smallwood who uses the camera as a means of exploring humankind. Through intimate images that transcend surface, he cultivates a deeper sens...

Brea Souders - On Chance from 2021-11-18T06:00:03

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist Brea Souders. Brea is known for disrupting our assumptions of what photography is. She does this through a multifaceted practice that d...

Emily Keegin - On Photo Direction from 2021-11-04T07:00:24

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to Emily Keegin, Freelance Photo Director. She has created images for The Fader, No Man’s Land, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, IB...

Rose Marie Cromwell - On Relationships from 2021-07-08T04:00

Gem Fletcher chats to Rose Marie Cromwell. The Miami-based artist whose work is rooted in the language of documentary photography but subverts many of its tropes by creating tension between the ...

Coco Capitán - On Imagining from 2021-06-16T05:00

Gem Fletcher chats to Coco Capitán, known for her genre-defying work that straddles fashion and fine art. Coco is known for her hybrid practice that is constantly evolving. She has crafted ...

Catherine Opie - On Belonging from 2021-05-27T06:00

Gem Fletcher chats to Catherine Opie. Known for her powerfully dynamic photography that examines the ideals and norms surrounding the culturally constructed American dream and American identity....

Charlie Engman - On Context from 2021-03-18T06:00

Gem Fletcher chats to Charlie Engman. Charlie originally trained as a movement artist as well as studying Japanese and Korean Studies before arriving at photography as a form of visual notation....

Lesley Martin - On Publishing from 2021-03-04T07:00

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to Lesley Martin, creative director of Aperture. She has edited over eighty books including collaborations with Zanele Muholi, La Toya Ruby Frazier, Richard Moss...

Lesley A. Martin - On Publishing from 2021-03-04T06:00

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to Lesley A. Martin, creative director of Aperture. She has edited over one hundred books including collaborations with Zanele Muholi, La Toya Ruby ...

Ekow Eshun - On Curation from 2021-02-18T06:00

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to writer and curator Ekow Eshun. His writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, Granta, Wired and Aper...

Laia Abril - On Methodology from 2021-02-05T05:00

Gem chats to Laia Abril. Laia is a research-based artist working with photography, text, video and sound. She began her career at the iconic Colors Magazine, which left an indelible mark on how ...

Quil Lemons - On Creativity from 2021-01-21T06:00

Gem chats to Quil Lemons, a New York-based artist who has really crafted a distinct visual language which interrogates ideas around masculinity, queerness, race and beauty. His first body o...

Farah Al Qasimi - On Discovery from 2021-01-07T06:00

Gem chats to Farah Al Qasimi. While her primary line of inquiry examines postcolonial structures of power, gender and taste in the Gulf Arab states, what galvanises the work is her unique abilit...

2020 Special from 2020-12-29T05:00

In this special episode, Gem Fletcher celebrates some of the personal projects, assignments and exhibitions that have been her highlights from the year. Despite the tough reality of 2020, some i...

Sara Urbaez - On Photo Editing from 2020-12-10T06:00

Gem chats to Sara Urbaez, a photo editor with extensive experience in both brand and editorial spaces. Sara extensive career has seen her work in photo departments at Apple, Airbnb, Wired, Art+ ...

Diana Markosian - On Transformation from 2020-11-26T12:41:50

Gem chats to Diana Markosian, known for her intimate approach to storytelling using photography and film. Her projects have taken her to some of the most remote corners of the world, where she h...

Annie Collinge - On Ideas from 2020-11-19T06:00

Recorded remotely on 16th October 2020, Gem chats to photographer Annie Collinge who moves between the world of art and fashion, creativity and commerce in a way that stays true to her ethos and...

Philip Montgomery - On Documentary from 2020-10-22T04:00

Recorded remotely on 5th September 2020, Gem chats to photographer Philip Montgomery. Renown for his urgent documentary work that focuses on the American experience, his work examin...

David Brandon Geeting - On Process from 2020-10-08T05:00

Recorded remotely on 4th September 2020, Gem chats to photographer David Brandon Geeting, a photographer renown for his disruptive approach to still life and visual aesthetics. Mast...

Dr Jennifer Good - On Ethics from 2020-09-24T05:00

Recorded remotely on 7th September 2020, Gem Fletcher chats to Dr Jennifer Good, writer, researcher and educator. Known for her fascinating research on the relationship between photography and t...

Carmen Winant - On Liberation from 2020-08-27T05:00

Recorded remotely on 26th July 2020, Gem Fletcher chats with renowned artist, writer and educator Carmen Winant. Her expansive art practice uses text and image to question the patriarchal framew...

Christopher Anderson - On Evolution from 2020-08-06T05:00

Recorded remotely on 24th April 2020 during lockdown, Gem chats to renowned photographer Christopher Anderson, who continues to have a fascinating journey through the industry. He’s...

Alec Soth - On Portraiture from 2020-07-23T05:00

Recorded remotely on 9th April 2020 during lockdown, Gem chats to renowned photographer Alec Soth, best known for his iconic work Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004). A series of 47 imag...

Shaniqwa Jarvis - On Storytelling from 2020-07-09T05:00

Recorded remotely on 31st May 2020 during lockdown, Gem chats to leading photographer and artist Shaniqwa Jarvis, best known for her fusion of modern fashion aesthetics with sensitive and emotio...

Georgie Wileman - On Emotion from 2020-06-25T05:36:09

Georgie Wileman is a portrait and Documentary photographer focusing on social injustice. Her work highlights our internalised lives, the struggles we live with mentally, physically an...

Micaiah Carter - On Collaboration from 2020-06-22T05:00

Micaiah Carter's stylised photographs have graced magazines, screens and billboards capturing icons, past and present with his unique blend of 90’s maximalism and 70’s hues.

He is clea...

Leonard Suryajaya - on Resilience from 2020-05-21T05:00

Leonard Suryajaya uses his work to speak profoundly to the challenges of being an outsider, and the deep complexity of navigating identities. He embeds his life experiences into every facet of h...

Arielle Bobb-Willis - On Adversity from 2020-05-07T05:00

Born and raised in New York City, with pit stops in South Carolina and New Orleans, photographer Arielle Bobb-Willis has been using the camera for nearly a decade as a tool of empowerment. Battl...

Eva O'Leary - On Process from 2020-04-23T05:00

Eva O’Leary has been producing photographs in and around her hometown of Central Pennsylvania, ironically nicknamed Happy Valley. Gaining access to college parties, dorm rooms, and proms and oth...

Chris Maggio - On Intervention from 2020-04-09T05:00

Chris Maggio is a photographer living in NYC with 8.6 million of his closest friends. Often exploring the quotidian details of American cities and their tourism, his documentary practice sits at...

Devyn Galindo - On Activism from 2020-03-26T06:00

Devyn Galindo is fearlessly nomadic, honest and observant, with an eye toward the gently radical. Having grown up between California and Texas, she between Los Angeles and New York, keeping time...

Antwaun Sargent - On Representation from 2020-02-20T06:00

Antuwan Sargent is an art critic, writer and curator. He has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, and more, as well as essays to multiple museum publications. His first book, “The ...

Michelle Groskopf - On Vulnerability from 2020-02-06T06:00

Michelle Groskopf is a street and editorial photographer based in Los Angeles. Her street photography has been exhibited around the world, including Korea, London, NY and LA, and has been featur...

Kimberly Drew - On Accessibility from 2020-01-23T06:00:10

Kimberly Drew is a writer, curator, and activist. She received her B.A. Smith College in Art History and African-American Studies. She first experienced the art world as an intern in ...

Prarthna Singh - On Location from 2020-01-09T06:00

Prarthna Singh's work explores female identity in contemporary India, within the intersection of gender and nation. Particularly drawn to stories that stand at the conflux of radical vulnerabili...

Charlotte Jansen - On Gaze from 2019-07-25T05:00

Charlotte Jansen is a British Sri Lankan author and arts and culture journalist. Since 2015, she has held the position of Editor-at-Large at Elephant magazine. She has written for ...

Alys Tomlinson - On Awards from 2019-07-11T05:00

Alys Tomlinson grew up in Brighton, UK and studied photography at Central Saint Martins. She recently completed an MA in Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. Her projects are often resear...

Lydia Pang - On Commissioning from 2019-06-27T05:00

After eight years in London including a five-year stint at M&C Saatchi and time with Anomaly, Lydia Pang moved to New York and now works as a Creative Director for Refinery29. She defines he...

Jack Davison & Agnes Lloyd-Platt - On Feedback from 2019-06-13T05:00

Jack Davison studied English Literature at Warwick University but spent most of the time experimenting with cameras. Since the age of 14 he has continuously photographed those around him. He liv...

Campbell Addy - On Vision from 2019-05-30T06:00

Campbell Addy is a London based photographer & filmmaker. His work is narrative and emotional in nature, with a focus on a unique casting and under-represented faces. In addition to his phot...

Alexander Coggin - On Authorship from 2019-05-15T09:00

 American Photographer Alexander Coggin has an extraordinary eye for the unusual, the unexpected and the unlikely. A trained actor, his theatrical education influences his ...

Alice Mann - On Gaze from 2019-05-01T21:00

Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1991, Alice Mann is a South African photographic artist based in London who’s intimate portraiture essays explore notions of picture making as an act of collab...

Catherine Hyland - On Assisting from 2019-04-08T15:15:20

Catherine Hyland is a photographer living and working in London. Her photography centres around people and their connection to the land they inhabit. Primarily landscape based, her work is roote...