Jo Spence | |
---|---|
Born | London, United Kingdom | 15 June 1934
Died | 24 June 1992 London, United Kingdom | (aged 58)
Nationality | British |
Known for | Photography |
Jo Spence (15 June 1934, London – 24 June 1992, Camden) was a British photographer, a writer, cultural worker, and a photo therapist. She began her career in the field of commercial photography but soon started her own agency which specialised in family portraits, and wedding photos.[1] In the 1970s, she refocused her work towards documentary photography, adopting a politicized approach to her art form, with socialist and feminist themes revisited throughout her career.[1][2] Self-portraits about her own fight with breast cancer,[1] depicting various stages of her breast cancer to subvert the notion of an idealized female form,[3] inspired projects in 'photo therapy', a means of using the medium to work on psychological health.