Jenny Matthews
“My first job was working as an English teacher for the British Council in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This introduced me to the wonders of Latin America as well as the perils of living under a military dictatorship. I bought my first camera in the bizarre free trade zone of Manaus in the middle of the Amazon and two friends who had darkrooms in Rio taught me to print. Three years later when I returned to London a friend introduced me to Camerawork/ Half Moon Photography Workshop and I soon became a member of the collective. After my day job, teaching in a comprehensive school, I worked on the touring exhibitions and the magazine – an amazing learning curve and introduction to the documentary photo scene.
“After several years of writing and thinking about photos I decided to return back to Latin America and in 1982 I spent five weeks travelling in Bolivia. Some contacts from Christian Aid helped with logistics and opened doors in the mining community and isolated Altiplano villages. On my return I printed a set of photos and walked them around picture desks. Somehow this worked, not a lot of money but enough to pay off my credit card and buy a ticket for my next trip – to Nicaragua, a small virtually unknown country in Central America which 2 years before had had a revolution. Gradually I built up contacts within solidarity groups and development agencies and usually managed to get a few days commissioned work for trips I wanted to make, specifically looking at the lives of women.
Managua, Nicaragua 1984. Martha Lorena on guard duty outside the main telecommunications office. ©Jenny Matthews
“In 1983 Maggie Murray and Val Wilmer invited a group of women photographers to set up a photo agency with them – Format Photographers – and I was so fortunate to be invited to join them. Being part of a collective was not always easy but as a group we had so much more power to distribute, sell and control what happened to our photos. The labour run Greater London Council helped with funding initially and the Peace Movement (including the camp at Greenham Common) and the Miners strike gave us plenty to photograph. In 1989 Format stopped being an unwieldy collective and I moved to Network. Both agencies were ultimately victims of digitalisation, unable to operate in the new climate of cut throat picture selling. Format closed in 2003, Network in 2005.
Palestine, West Bank. Olive harvest. ©Jenny Matthews
“In the 1980s I worked mainly in South and Central America and in the 1990s in Africa. I was working in Rwanda just before the 1994 genocide and ended up making numerous trips there documenting survivors for Africa Rights.
“1988 was a key year for me…I went on a press trip to Eritrea with War on Want and we happened to arrive during a massive battle for the liberation of the tiny state from Ethiopia. A few months later some women friends were making a film on Afghan women for Channel Four, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and I joined them as a stills photographer. I would later return to both countries several times and chart their histories.
“My book ‘Women and War’ was published in 2003 by Pluto Press and the accompanying exhibition toured worldwide . I am now working on a second book on the same theme. I live in Hackney, East London and have been working on a long term project with the vibrant community here.
“Since 2006 I have been with Panos Pictures, an agency which specialises in global social issues. Like everyone my paid work ground to a halt during the pandemic so I started printing selected images from my archive onto cotton/linen and adding embroidery. This work has recently been shown at Photo Oxford, Farley Farm gallery (home of the Lee Miller archive in Sussex) and at Streetlevel Gallery in Glasgow.
Afghanistan. Girl on skateboard with added embroidery. Dedicated to all active girls now confined to their home. ©Jenny Matthews
“In October 2024 I was thrilled to be made a visiting Professor of Photography at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland.”
jennymatthews.photoshelter.com
Talk Photo
TALK PHOTO is a fortnightly evening social event in Oriel Colwyn’s gallery space, where invited speakers are here IN PERSON to share presentations and insights about their work or projects, with a friendly intimate audience.
Talks start at 7pm (doors open 6.30pm) with tickets issued on a first come, first served basis.
If you are in a position to contribute towards the talks then please choose a donation option – this will directly help Oriel Colwyn and the continuation of these events going forward.
If you would prefer not to donate, please choose the FREE Ticket option.
Due to space limitations, we will be capping the audience to 30 people and are happy to offer a FREE option to remove any financial barriers to attend.