Alexandra Hughes is an artist with an exhibition-based practice that brings the photographic image together with sculptural material, performative gesture, and painting.

Alexandra Hughes describes her processes as ‘wilding’: material-led, tactile, instinctual, disruptive, and intimate. She creates installations that destabilise and re-create worlds: examining the boundaries of environments, representation, material, and imagination.

Hughes received her BA Hons (Photography) at Falmouth University (2004) and her MFA (Fine Art Media) at The Slade School of Fine Art (2008). Hughes has recently achieved a practice-based PhD from Northumbria University (2019), with the thesis Wilding Photographs: Exploring the Turbulent and Affective Qualities of the Material Phenomenon of Photography.

Recent projects include Hinterlands, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2022); Tender Kaleidescape, Newcastle Cathedral (2022), Bridging The Distance, Four Corners Gallery, London (2021) and Liquid Land, Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge (2018). Recent talks and workshops include Weighting Time – A Creative Assembly Event exploring Photography as an Object of Encounter, Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland (2023); Buen Vivir: The Feminist School of Painting, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2022) and Talking Photography: Reality Check, Birkbeck University, London (2017).

CV

Selected exhibitions & projects

2022
Hinterlands, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead
Tender Kaleidescape, Newcastle Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne

2021
Bridging The Distance, Four Corners Gallery, London

2019
Artists in the Field, Royal Geographical Society, London
ARTHOUSES, Whitley Bay – Newcastle upon Tyne

2018
Liquid Land, Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge

2016
Materiality, Gymnasium Gallery, Berwick upon Tweed

2015
Northern Light, SIA Gallery, Sheffield

2011
URBAN DREAMS, R O O M Artspace. London

2010
ROTOR, The Whitworth Art Gallery. Manchester
Arrangements, Siobhan Davies Studios. London
Trace/痕迹, Sanhe Museum. Hangzhou, China

2009
freshfacedandwildeyed09,The Photographers Gallery. London

Selected talks

2023
Weighting Time – A Creative Assembly Event exploring Photography as an Object of Encounter, Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland

2022
Buen Vivir: The Feminist School of Painting, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead

2018
Assembly: Critical Reflection On The Photographic Object, Baltic 39, Newcastle upon Tyne

2017
Artists in the Field, Royal Geographical Society, London
Talking Photography:Reality Check, The Photography Research Network- Birkbeck University, London

2016
Hard Focus: The Physicality of Photography Symposium, ArtWork Atelier, Salford
Practising the Anthropocene, ATLAS Arts, Scottish National Galleries, Modern One, Edinburgh
Northern Light Symposium, Sheffield Hallam University

2010
Artists’ Practice Day, Camden Arts Centre, London

Education

2019
PhD Fine Art (Practice-Based). University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne

2014
MRES Fine Art (Practice-Based). University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne

2008
MFA Fine Art. Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London

2004
BA Hons Photography. The Falmouth School of Arts, Falmouth University

Skills & Experience

DBS Checked
Documentation: photography
Technique tuition: photography
Visiting lecturer (FE)
Visiting lecturer (HE)
Working with schools (primary)
Working with schools (secondary)
Workshops (family / general)
Workshsops (adult)

Alexandra Hughes

CV

Skills & Experience

Bank Studios Network (UNIT)